


Triple Trouble

by redandwhiteroses



Series: Hotline Scream [1]
Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game), Scream (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Domestic Violence undertones, Eventual Smut, Exhibitionism, F/M, Lots of Murder, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Unhealthy Relationships, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:14:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21851923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redandwhiteroses/pseuds/redandwhiteroses
Summary: Being the original Ghostface had it perks. Up until two pipsqueaks try and steal the name.Well, if they want to steal Danny's name, he can steal their girl.(Inspo from bloody-brahms on Tumblr, but my own twist on it!)
Relationships: Billy Loomis/Reader, Billy Loomis/Stu Macher, Billy Loomis/Stu Macher/Reader, Danny "Jed Olsen" Johnson | The Ghost Face/Original Female Character(s), Stu Macher/Reader, ghostface x reader - Relationship
Series: Hotline Scream [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2128059
Comments: 77
Kudos: 486





	1. Glossy Photos

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! Again, I'm a nasty slasher fucker, so have some of my fics. All should be on elegant-death on tumblr as well.

The heat is almost oppressive. It doesn’t help the cheap air conditioning unit in your apartment is busted, making your apartment even more unbearable. For a moment, you regret not having taken Stu open on his offer. He’d offered to get you an apartment that, while farther away from campus, would have been much more lavish and expensive. Knowing him, the rent would be astronomical. He had come to except a certain way of living. 

You couldn’t accept, knowing what was coming.

Billy and Stu had been your first loves. It might seem funny to most, having two people as your first loves, but Billy and Stu were basically one person with how much time they spent with each other. The two of them had dated people independently, but it was pretty much an unstated fact that you didn’t date one or the other. You dated both of them at the same time. It just tended to be a matter of how long it took for them to bring up the idea.

The phone rings.

The sudden sound interrupting your thoughts causes you to jump. For a moment, your heart hammers in your chest. You swallow hard. Slowly, you scan around your tiny apartment. No one seemed to be there, so you went over to the phone and grabbed it.

“Hello?”

“Hey.” You nearly sigh in relief. The voice on the line is Randy, and you weren’t asked the infamous question. 

“Hey, Randy.”

“Are you okay?” His concern is evident, even through the bad connection. “I saw Stu and Billy today, outside of my Art History lecture. They both seemed pretty upset, and I know you had just changed your phone number, and I just wan-”

“I’m fine, Randy.” You resist the urge to laugh. “Just, you know, living out an old troupe.”

“Girl goes off to college and breaks it off with her boyfriend? Or well, boyfriends?” While his tone is meant to be flippant, you can still tell he’s worried. You nod.

“Yeah, something like that.” You taste bitter, and your stomach churns at why exactly you did what you did. “I-”

“Look, you don’t have to justify it to me.” Randy interrupts quickly. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re, you know, alright.” The unspoken words linger in the air. You sigh.

“I’m fine. I mean… I’ll be okay. That’s why I told you I changed my number, just in case-” You stop, letting out another sigh. You and Randy had a running joke about how people who pissed off Billy or Stu seemed to go missing randomly, oftentimes turning up dead in brutal ways. The police were never able to pin it on the two, partially due to the amount of money Stu’s family had. The joke was a way for both of you to cope with the loss of several close friends. 

Bile rises in your throat.

It had been a joke, until someone confirmed it for you. 

You’d gotten a letter not too long ago. No return address or any sort of markings. Just a plain envelope filled with several stacks of pictures. It’d been slipped under your apartment door. Well, your old apartment. You’d made quiet arrangement to move once you’d seen the contents of the letter. Multiple quiet arrangements. You transferred to another college, moved to a new apartment, changed your phone number, and several other different measures to make sure you were safe.

Staying where you were after breaking up with two killers was just asking to get murdered. 

The photos, those glossy photos, showed a disgusting scene. Both of your… you didn’t know what to call them. Both of your exs seemed the best fit. The two of them together, clad in the iconic Ghostface robes. Billy had a knife, and the steel blade was dripping with blood. Stu was squatting down beside the victim, clearly making fun of them. You didn’t see who the victim was. Not that you wanted to. All you saw was an eviscerated corpse with your two boyfriends acting like… No, as. Acting as the animals they were. 

You had gone through the photos several times to make sure they were real. You came to the conclusion that they couldn’t have been faked. Billy and Stu clearly killed these people.

Yes. People.

The photos had come in four bundles, each with a different victim but the same two killers. One was just Billy alone, but the other three had the both of them. One set even showed them killing Blake, a guy who had gotten a little too friendly with you and disappeared. The knowledge that you had accidentally signed someone’s death warrant still made you sick to your stomach. 

“Listen. I want to know what happened, but you don’t have to say anything. Just, check in with me. Please?”

“Absolutely, Randy.” You were glad he couldn’t see your face, see your somber expression. “I will.”

A few more pleasantries were exchanged before you hung up the phone. You stood in your empty apartment for several seconds before it all hit you. You slid down to the floor, shaking and crying, finally letting out all your emotions. What a fucking nightmare this was going to be.

———————————————

You woke up, much cooler and sore. Your eyes felt dry, and your head was thumping. You shifted, moving away from the cabinet. 

“Huh.” You murmur, your voice crackling. You must have cried so hard you feel asleep. Slowly, you moved to sit on your heels. From there, you began to get up. It hurts to move, but the floor hurts more. It’s dark inside your tiny little apartment. You hadn’t turned on the lights, so the sun coming in from the open curtains had been the only thing lighting your new living space. A little bit of light was provided from a street light and some neon signs. 

You get up. You grab a glass. You fill it with water from the tap. Your movements are slow and methodical. You go to your cabinet. You open it up. You grab a bottle of pain killers. Everything felt automated, as if you were a machine. That was fine by you. If you were a machine, that was good. That meant you couldn’t feel any sort of human emotions, and that was the last thing you wanted.

You liked feeling nothing.

You take a pill out and wash it down with the water. Hopefully that would help with your headache. You place the glass gently down on the counter and press your forehead against the cabinet faces. You breathe. In through your nose and out through your mouth. 

You needed to figure out what to do. You probably needed to call the police, let them know what you saw. Hand the photos over as evidence. 

But you didn’t want to. Namely because you weren’t sure if you were safe yet. No sense in handing that over if you didn’t know you were safe.

The phone rings.

You swear loudly, knocking your glass to the floor as you jump. The crash of the glass and ringing off the phone seem deafening in the silence. 

You listen to the little voice in your head and grab a weapon. You’d stored plenty of potential weapons in secret spaces throughout the new apartment to be safe. Your hands close around the handle of the cleaver you’d hidden. 

“Hello?” Your voice doesn’t shake when you answer it.

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” The phone on the other end mocks you.

Fear floods your system, and your eyes begin scanning the apartment. You knew how the Gho- how Billy and Stu worked. They were in the apartment with you.

“Why don’t you tell me?” You challenge. Part of you wants to believe that maybe it’s not Billy or Stu. They would know the answer or mock you for your reply. 

“You like revenge movies?”

“What?” You miss the light switch you’re trying to turn on. That was never something you’d discussed with your exs. Revenge movies were always Billy’s thing, never yours. At least, that’s what the boys thought.

“A little birdy told me that your favorite horror movie is Hellraiser.” The voice says. “Little birdy also told me it’s because you identified with Kirsty Cotton.” You can’t see any movement. Your hand tightens around the handle of the cleaver.

“Who are you?” You feel stupid asking the question, so you follow it up quickly. “You’re not Billy or Stu.” You made a point to never tell them that. The two had been so protective of you that you didn’t like letting them in on the secret that you had been abused. 

“No.” A chuckle. “I’m not. I’m someone even better, Kirsty.” You bristle at the name.

“Oh? If I’m Kirsty, who does that make you?” You challenge. The person on the other line hums.

“You know, you aren’t very good at bargaining. That’s something Kirsty is supposed to be good at, right? I didn’t pay much attention to the movie. Your reactions were much more fun.”

“I can’t bargain if I don’t know where to start.” Again, you scan the room. Your brain begins working on the clues the mysterious person has given you, trying to piece things together. 

“You do. Just think about it. If it helps, I’m not the Frank to your Kirsty. That’s Billy and Stu. I bet you want to see them get ripped to shreds right now, don’t you? I know I would.”

“So, what? You’re the Pinhead to my Kirsty? You want me to bargain their lives for mine?”

“Oh, we’re past that now. I’ve already got them where I want them.” Your brain finally latches on to something solid, a clue they’ve given away.

“You want me to watch you torture them?”

“Closer.” The voice sounds pleased. “I was thinking more of an active participant.”

“The fuck is that su-” You stop. You heard a noise. The faintest squeak of hinges. You set the phone down onto the counter. You don’t know whether to go towards the noise or run from it. The cleaver feels heavy in your hands.

“Fuck it.” You growl. Carefully, you begin slinking around the kitchen island, away from the noise. They’re probably expecting you to go towards it. You will. Eventually. Right now, you want to sneak up on them if you can.

A flash of light startles you, blinds you. You nearly drop the clever. A sound follows, like shutters of a camera closing. Your hands instinctively go up to shield your face from the glare when you see another flash, this one seemingly closer.

It was closer. The next moment, you feel one hand take away the clever and the other wrap around your throat. A thud tells you whoever this is threw the weapon somewhere else before they start choking you with both hands, applying pressure in a way that lets you know they’ve done this before.

“Night night, Kirsty.” A man says. “I’ll see you later.”

————————————-

Beep

Beep

Beep

The repetitive sound is the first thing you hear. It comes to you before your vision does. Your eyes feel heavy, and they don’t want to open. You manage, though. The ceiling you’re staring at is white and blank.

“Oh, good. You’re awake.” You hear your mother, when did your mother get here?, say. She starts sobbing almost violently. You feel her hands pulling you as close to her as they can while trying not to disturb you. You wince as pain shoots through you, and she lets you go, apologizing. Faintly, you hear your dad talking to you.

“Wha–” Your mouth is dry and feels like cotton. “What happened?” You don’t need to ask where you are; the beeping gave it away. You try to move up onto your elbows and nearly shriek. The pain sent through your body hurt like nothing else you’ve ever experienced. Both of your parents quickly help you up into a more comfortable position, moving the bed so you can sit up. You can now see your torso, covered in bandages. You make a distressed noise. Your mom pulls you close again, cradling you as best you can. She’s crying so hard that she can’t speak, so your dad does it for her.

“The Ghostface attacked you.” His words are matter-of-fact, but his tone does hold a deep sorrow. “He- he beat you and took pictures of you unconscious, and put the photos on you, and then he called the police.” He clears his throat. You finish it for him.

“Are they already waiting to speak to me?” You don’t say the unspoken, the question of what made you special. He nods. You turn your head enough to see his face, and the sorrow all over it makes you start to tear up. He reaches out and takes your free hand.

“Your mom and I… We thought we had lost you. Don’t scare us like that again, okay?” He tries to weakly smile at his own joke. You nod, tears beginning to fall freely now.

“I won’t.” You promise. The moment seems like it should hold, as if the three of you should stay there and hold each other and cry. But it doesn’t. A loud commotion from the hall catches your attention. You move, ignoring the wracking pains shooting through your body. Yelling and screaming can be heard. Your parents both turn to the doorway. Through the glass, you can see officers fighting with someone, trying to calm them down. Whatever they’re saying doesn’t make sense, words jumbled together.

Finally, the door bursts open.

Both Stu and Billy run into the room. They run over to the other side of your bed, Stu climbing into the bed with you. Billy keeps off the bed, but his eyes are red from crying.

“Holy shit, you’re alive. You’re alive.” Stu murmurs to you, moving as close to you as he can. His words cause your mom to sob again. You look over to Billy. He looks so sad and angry that, for a moment, you feel sorry for the poor bastard who put you here.

“Stu got us here as fast as he could.” Billy puts his hands in his pockets, clearly unsure of what to do. 

“Not leaving us again.” You feel Stu mutter into your hair. You want to laugh at his actions, but you can’t. All you can think about are those glossy photos, blood spattering the both of them. Bile rises in your throat, and you try to shove both Stu and your mom off you as fast as you can. Your mom seems to know what you want. She pulls away and within seconds, she’s pulled a trashcan over. You lean over it and puke. It’s more dry-heaving than anything, but it’s enough that Stu moves to stand beside Billy. The door is still open, and you can see a cop standing there. A nurse comes in and brings you water, shooing Billy and Stu out. 

The nurse gets you settled. You can tell she’s waiting to ask something.

“Do the police want to question me?” You croak. 

“Yes.” She nods. You nod in return, letting her know you’re ready. Your parents talk to you, keeping their voices soft, while she gets the police. Two cops come in and begin. It’s routine questioning. What surprises you is that they don’t talk about the photos of Billy and Stu. You become more and more confused. Surely they’d want to talk to you about it?

You get your answer in the form of another envelope. It’s the same one that those cursed images had come in, but it’s different. Surprisingly neat hand-writing covers it. 

Only two.

You blink, looking at it. 

“Do you know what it means?” The first cop asks. 

“No. I don’t.”


	2. Unexpected Visitors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get several visitors over the course of the day.

The hospital’s reports aren’t great.

One wrist broken along with several fingers, a couple cracked ribs, and scarring. Apparently, the wrist and fingers were from you trying to defend yourself, although you don’t remember doing so. The doctors believe that the cracked ribs are also a result of the struggle.

“And the scarring?” You ask, hesitantly. Your doctor pauses for a second, and you know that it isn’t going to be good news. 

“It is obviously deliberate.” She seems to struggle for a second. “The police believe it’s some sort of warning. I don’t know what I think of it.”

“Is it...” Your voice wavers.

“You were cut deep enough to scar, yes. And it’s not very pretty. The good news is that it’s on your back, so if you want to cover it up, it’ll be easy enough to do so.” You nod. Your brain is stuck on the first two sentences. They keep on playing over and over in your head as you toss and turn, trying to get some sleep. Your stay at the hospital was extended due to your injuries, so you told your parents to go home. You wish you hadn’t. The silence, as silent as a hospital could be, seemed to mock you. 

An unusual noise comes from your door, making you bolt upright. The heart monitor’s beeping starts to go haywire.

“Fuck.” You hear an all-too familiar voice hiss as the door opens. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Move.” You hear another voice grumble. The two begin fighting. The light that the open door had provided disappears as the door is closed. The monitor’s pace picks up again, as your heart races even more. 

Fuck. Billy and Stu were the last two people you wanted to see at the moment. You wished you could pretend to be asleep still, but they already knew you were awake. You try to figure out what to do, how to defend yourself if they try to kill you-

The bedside light is turned on. You face the opposite direction, shielding your eyes as best as possible. Briefly, you can make out Stu sitting on the end of your bed while Billy sits in the chair beside it. Stu seems eager that you’re awake. Billy, on the other hand... Something unreadable lurks in his expression.

“Jesus, you look like shit.” Stu jokes, clearly trying to hide how worried he is behind his humor. Billy’s eyes narrow.

“You want to tell us why you left?” His tone is laced with dark intent.

“Dude, they’re in the hospital. Why are you asking that?” Stu glares at Billy, kicking at the other man in the shin.You don’t say anything. You don’t know what you can say.

“We deserve answers.” His reply is flat. Stu turns to look at you, seeing if you’ll respond. Again, you keep your lips shut, eyes flickering between them and the door. Even without the tubes hooking you up to the machines, you wouldn’t be able to make it. The help alarm might be an option. Your eyes flick to it.

“Dude. Answer him.” Stu’s voice breaks your reverie. “I’m not liking how this is going, man.”

“You two are the Ghostface.” Your tone is soft, despite the fact you just blurted them out. Your eyes flick back and forth between the other two nervously. “Both of you are... are...” You can’t finish the sentence. You lean over your bed and hurl into the trashcan close to you. Stu moves to touch you, and you hiss at him.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” You’re not sure if you can really look threatening right now, given how you just puked. Stu backs off nonetheless, hands going up into the air.

“How do you know?” You’re not sure if the anger in Billy’s tone is directed at you or at himself. For a moment, you consider telling them about the photos.

“I just put the pieces together.” You don’t want whomever it was who sent the photos to be targeted. In a way, this mysterious person did you a service.

“I’ve been telling you, we should have just said something!” Stu once again tries to kick Billy’s shin, but Billy grabs Stu’s foot and holds it. 

“You dipshit, that’s why they broke up with us.” Billy hisses, momentarily forgetting you’re there. 

“Yeah, but we could have done damage control if we had been there.” Stu practically whines. You hope the two of them are distracted enough fighting each other that you can press the bell. 

No such luck. It seems as soon as you look at the bell, Billy is watching you again like a hawk.   
“I don’t believe you.” He states.

You shrug. “Fine. Whatever. Does it really matter when you’re going to kill me anyway?”

“Kill you?” Both say at the same time. Stu’s voice is more confusion while Billy’s is outraged.

“I know your secret.” Your tone is flat this time. “I’d kill me.”

“Wait, no! Why would we kill you when we love you?” Stu seems genuinely distraught, his voice rising in pitch. “What would make you think that?”

“Maybe we should.” Billy’s eyes glitter darkly. “If they think we would do it anyway...”

“I don’t know what you might do was my point.” You snap back. “Now either do whatever you were going to do, or get the hell out of here.”

The two of them are silent.

Yeah, you’d gotten pissy with them before and snapped, but it was never with this amount of venom and hatred. It was always clear, even if you got angry, that you still cared for them. This, however... No love made its way into your tone. You take the moment to roll over so your back is to them, pulling the blanket over you. 

Silence reigns for a few seconds. You know the two of them are having one of their silent conversations. 

“Did you get a look at who it was who hurt you?” Stu breaks the silence. 

“Why?”

“So we can kill them.” Billy’s tone is frosty, but it does hold a hint of fond exasperation. “They hurt you, we hurt them. Simple.”

“Is it?” You turn over again, glaring at both of them. “Because I don’t recall Blake hurting me, yet you killed him.”

“Hey, in our defense, he was macking on you! A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!” You snort at that.

“Unbelievable! You really think that you can justify killing someone with some tri-”

“He tried to take you away.” Billy interrupts. An unpleasant shiver runs up your spine. “You’re ours. We had to make sure the message stuck.”

Stu giggles at that. “So we stuck him like the fuckin’ pig he was.” He cackles at his own joke. 

“Oh? And what are you going to do now that I’m not yours?” You spit. Billy’s eyes narrow more, and Stu’s expression turns from delighted to annoyed.

“You don’t get it, do you?” 

“You’re always gonna be ours! No way you’re not.”

You don’t know what to say. Rage boils just underneath your skin, but you can’t give it a voice. If you do, who knows what might happen? You’re not going to agree just because they could kill you, but you’re also not going to let them just take ownership of you. Words are trying to form when Billy stops you.

“You’ll get used to it.” He motions to Stu. “Took him some time, but he got used to it too.”

“Now it’s kinda fun.” 

You aren’t sure how to respond, so you don’t. Instead, you watch the two of them warily. You’re still trying to formulate a plan, a way out of this increasingly scary nightmare. You hope for a moment that this is just a dream. You really want it to be. Billy is studying you intently.

“What did the doctor say?” Stu asks, and for a moment, everything feels normal. You’re just someone in the hospital, and their significant others snuck in after hours to see them.

“Broken wrist and fingers, a couple cracked ribs, and scars.” You try to sound nonchalant. “They think the broken bones are because of fighting my attackers.” Stu frowns. Billy leans forward.

“And the scarring?” 

“It’s... It was obviously intentional. That’s all they told me.” You swallow hard, fighting off sudden tears. “I haven’t looked at it.”

“Can we?” Stu sounds surprisingly gentle. You look at him. His face is scrunched up with concern. You lick your suddenly dry lips before nodding. Slowly, you roll onto your other side so they can get a look at your back. Two gentle pairs of hands undo the back of your hospital gown, fingers brushing softly against your skin as they push it out of the way. You close your eyes and drink in the sensation. It might be a long time before you feel such a gentle touch ever again.

A harsh intake of air and a matching low growl lets you know when they see it. You almost yelp when you feel two different sets of fingers tracing along it. Stu’s touch is gentle, checking your stitches and making sure you’ll heal alright. Billy’s is a little more rough, looking to see the extent of the damages.

“I can probably get someone to look at it soon.” Stu’s voice is filled with false cheer. “Get a good plastic surgeon on it.” Billy doesn’t speak, but you can feel the anger radiating off of him.

“That bad?” You crack a fake smile.

“They’re going to suffer.” The words are spit out through gritted teeth. 

“How... how big? How bad?”

“They didn’t carve initials or anything like that. Don’t know what it means, but it’s not that.”

“It’s a symbol?”

“Nah. It’s just two lines, but like, it feels like it means more.” Stu laughs, trying to hide his nervousness.

Despite your wariness, you find yourself relaxing in the presence of the two. The three of you softly talk for a little while longer. Stu fills you in on what’s changed and happened with Billy occasionally commenting. They bicker back and forth while they talk. The familiarity of it is so nice, so comforting, that it doesn’t take long for you to fall asleep.  
\-----------------------------------------------------

The next day you get a visitor. You made Billy and Stu leave before the nurse came back. Both of them promised to visit you that night. You’re falling in and out of sleep when the nurse wakes you up.

“A reporter wants to see you.” Her voice is surprisingly pleasant. “Do you want to see him?”

“Sure.” You mumble, thanking her as she helps you sit up. “What’s his name?”

“Jed Olsen. He’s a local reporter, and he’s been covering the Ghostface story. If you don’t want to talk to him, I understand. It’s just... you’re the only survivor.” 

“I’ll talk to him.” You nod, shifting to get more comfortable.

“I’ll go get him.” She goes to get him, and you sigh. You had hoped for more time to recover, but you knew that you’d have to talk to the press. You hear the door click open and snap shut. Footsteps come towards your bed.

“Hi, babe. I’m Jed Olsen. Should I just call you Kirsty?” A teasing voice makes you snap your eyes open. You know just from the voice who came to see you.

“You motherfucker.” You growl, trying to get out of bed. Adrenaline surges through you. Jed steps back with a laugh.

“Feisty. I see how those losers ended up wanting you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *To the Farmers Jingle* We love an asshole!


	3. New Date

You don’t hesitate, lunging for the call button for the nurse as fast as you can. Jed, if that was his name, is fast. Much faster than you. He grabs your wrist and yanks you away from the wall. His free hand comes up to cover your mouth, your yowl of pain muffled against it.

“Listen, babe.” He purrs in your ear. “I don’t want to hurt you this visit, but I can if I need to. So don’t make me need to.” Your eyes are darting back and forth, body tense in his grip. He sighs, letting go of your arm in order to push you back into the bed. You open your mouth, intent on biting his hand, but he’s too quick. Your head gets yanked back violently so you’re looking up at him.

“Did you not hear me?” He sneers. “You’re not that bright.” You wriggle, trying to escape his grip. He laughs. “Oh, I like that look. You’re really fucking hot when you’re angry.” He practically throws you back onto the bed before sitting down on the edge. 

“What do you want?” You’re still scanning the room, looking for a way out. To your surprise, you hear rustling, and he pulls out... a fucking notepad and pencil? Your confusion and disgust must have shown on his face because he grins lazily.

“What? I said I was here to do an interview. I’m not that much of a liar.” Jed takes a moment to smooth his hair down with one hand. You see a bunch of things already written on the page.

“Started without me, huh?” You quip, trying to keep his attention away from the fact that you’re starting to get a little desperate. You can’t seem to find a good exit.

“Gotta meet a deadline for the paper.” You know your attempt to distract him is useless. His grin slowly curves and becomes more malovently. He rakes his eyes up and down you slowly. Your huff of displeasure makes his smile turn more gleeful.

“So, what’s up? What’s the plan? Are you just hear to scare me?” You cross your arms over your chest, curling in on yourself ever so slightly. You don’t know what’s making you the most uncomfortable: the blatant way he’s checking you out, the gleeful way he scares you, or the nonchalant way he acts about this whole ordeal. 

“Nah, I’m here to talk business.” He stops and then winks lavisciously. You roll your eyes. “Scaring you is just a nice addition.”

You sigh. “Alright. I’ll bite. What’s the business?”

“What we’re gonna do about your stupid ex’s.” Jed moves as if he’s going to tap the end of your nose with the eraser. You lean forward out of instinct, ready to bite. His smile spreads, and he lets out a chuckle again. 

“Oh, they got you trained good, don’t they? Do they do that a lot? Make you play bite the pencil?”

“Shut the fuck up.” You grumble. He’s good at getting under your skin, and he’s only just met you. This time, he does make contact with your nose when he moves the eraser towards you. You nearly flail in surprise.

“Oh, doll. You’re a treat. A real treat.” He mocks wiping tears away from his eyes.

“What is your plan for dealing with Billy and Stu?” You want to change the subject. You hate the way he’s treating you; it’s a weird combination of feeding off of your fear and playful. He’s clearly getting off on how afraid you are, how you don’t know what to do. The other part is even weirder because it feels like it’s domestic sort of teasing, the kind a teenage boy might do to their significant other. It’s very confusing. You want to feel like you’re on solid ground.

“Well, now that is a good question.” Jed shifts. “You want to hurt them, don’t you?”

You blink. He sighs.

“It’s a simple yes or no question. I’m not some jack-off who will ask you obscure trivia questions.”

“...Yes.” Your lips feel dry, and the word makes its way out of your throat despite yourself. Jed’s smile becomes a devious smirk. 

Something inside of your stomach curls in a pleasant way. You take the time to look at him, really look at him. You’d be an idiot if you said he wasn’t handsome; he had the face and physique of a guy who had people falling all over him and knew it. That wasn’t what seemed to pull you in, surprisingly. It’s his facial expression. Underneath the very handsome exterior, you can see something lurking. It makes you think of a fox, how they play dead in order to lure a rabbit closer and into pouncing range.

You know exactly how the rabbit feels.

“See, that wasn’t hard, was it?” His tone is a weird mix of mocking and sympathetic. You huff in response. You’re so unsure of what to do and how to act. It feels like being young again, dealing with your first cru-

Oh.

Oh fuck no.

Nope. No. You’re not going to go down that road.

If Jed notices your sudden start, he doesn’t say anything. You think he does from the way he seems to be fighting a smile.

“Why do you want to hurt them? I would think that all the killing they’ve done would make people more scared of you?”

Jed laughs at that, truly laughs. He throws his head back and practically howls. Part of it is an act, though, because as soon as he lowers his head, his expression is deadly.

“Yeah. I want my name to be stolen by two-bit fuckers who think asking trivia questions makes them fuckin’ superior to everyone else. Who don’t even put any effort into their work.” He pauses and lets out a displeased noise. “They aren’t improving it; they’re ruining it. Trying to piggyback off of me and get their five minutes of fame.”

“Yeah, they tend to do that.” You shrug, not really thinking about your words. Jed perks up.

“You’re going to have to tell me all about it later.” His voice is full of promise.

“You still haven’t told me how exactly you want to hurt them.”

“Oh?” He raises an eyebrow. “I thought I did. We’re going to tear them down completely.”

“That doesn’t ex-”

Jed sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“What I mean, doll, is you’re talking to your new boyfriend.”

“Excuse me?”  
“Okay, it’s not just that, but it’s part of it.” He leans towards you. “You seem like the oblivious type, so I’ll spell it out for you. You’re their world, their pride and joy. All that mushy shit. But you and I, we know the truth.”

“Oh?” You cross your arms over your chest again, raising one of your eyebrows. “Do we know?”

“The longer I talk to you, the more I get why they fell for you.” He purrs. His eyes are focused intently on your lips. Jed stops and shakes his head. “You? You’re way out of their league. Honestly, I’m surprised you decided to stay in such a low place for so long. It was only a matter of time before you found someone more on your level.”

“And you are?” You challenge. His eyes narrow for a second before brightening.

“Nobody is on my level or will ever be. You? You’re close enough people will buy it.”

“How charming.” You drawl.

“I’m just being honest, babe.” He shrugs, leaning back again. You have a feeling he’d interlace his fingers behind his head if he could. A knock on the door startles you, making you jump. 

“Come in.” You call. The nurse pokes her head around the corner.

“You have two more visitors.” She informs you pleasantly. “Should I tell them to wait?”

“No, we’re good for today.” Jed stands up smoothly. His whole persona changed within a second. No longer do you have the antagonistic, flirtatious murderer in your room but a confident reporter. He turns to you. “I would like to talk more tomorrow if that’s alright.”

“Yeah. Yeah, tomorrow will work.” You manage to choke out. He gives you a blinding smile.

“Perfect! I’ll see you tomorrow.” He pulls his bag more securely over his shoulder before leaving. You stare off into space, unsure of what just happened. You don’t hear Billy and Stu come in.

“Who was that?” Stu’s voice makes you whip your head around.

“Just a journalist.” You shrug.


	4. Hades and Persephone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A late night talk with Danny gives you a wonderful plan

The days pass slowly in the hospital. You feel like there’s only so much bad tv you can watch and bad magazines you can read. You can’t really walk around to go places or do things. The only time you can walk is during your physical therapy. At least you have that fairly often; you would have gone stir crazy if it wasn’t for those appointments. This lull gives you plenty of time to think over Jed’s words from earlier in the day. The nurses kicked Billy and Stu out after visiting hours were over. They promised to sneak in and see you later at night. On some level, you hope they don’t. You need time and space to think.

That, and you were still very much struggling with the idea that your boyfriends could be murderers. Wait, scratch that. You’re still struggling with the fact that your ex boyfriends are murderers. It would be easy to say that they are your boyfriends, that the three of you ended up working things out and getting back together. But that’s the last thing you want. As nice as this time has been, you haven’t forgotten what they really are. It’s been taking so much energy to not flinch whenever one of them touches you. They clearly know something is up, but neither of them have asked. If they do, you do have the reasonable defense of recovering from being attacked. 

You sigh, rolling over onto your side. You know you shouldn’t listen to Jed, he’s the man that attacked you!, but he makes sense. The longer you think about what he said, the more the idea seems appealing. It would be nice to make Billy and Stu pay, to break their hearts. Jed would be an ideal candidate to help you; he can clearly hold his own if he’s the original Ghostface. You close your eyes. Your brain begins reviewing what you know about the entirety of the case. Having different killers makes sense. The ones you know the boys committed, whether it’s because of those glossy photos from weeks ago or because you know them so well, are far different from Jed’s. From what you gathered, Billy and Stu’s crimes were sloppier and messier. They were obviously planned, but the reports seemed to imply an underlying sloppiness.

Jed’s crimes were far different. Meticulous and cleared planned. His murders had a flare for the dramatic, yes, but it was clear that was a part of them. It wasn’t the by-product of sloppiness. The time that Jed must take with each one seems astounding to you. He must spend hours figuring out what he wanted to do and how he was going to do so. It wasn’t just dedication to his work; it approached something like genuine care.

A part of you, a sick part of you, wonders if he would put that amount of care into a relationship. If he would treat you as reverently as he did his murders.

Maybe it was because you hadn’t been with anyone in a while, but one of your hands slowly sneaks under the covers. The hardest part about the break-up, other than the obvious emotional trauma that comes from finding out your lovers are not who they claim to be on any level, is that you had gotten used to a high level of sexual activity. The boys were practically insatiable, so going from sex at least once a day to not getting laid within weeks was a difficult adjustment. You trail your fingertips along the skin not covered by the hospital gown. Even though your wounds are healing, it still hurts to move too fast. The slow slide adds a sensation that makes your toes curl slightly.

You tilt your head back and close your eyes. Yes, these aren’t the ideal conditions to get yourself off, but it’s been so long. You try to ignore the beeping of the heart monitor and focus on the feelings going through your body. Your fingertips don’t feel right, as if they’re missing a certain roughness to them. You try to conjure the sensation from the back of your mind. A little better. Maybe if you think about a situation of some kind that’ll help. Your hand moves up and inwards, towards your inner thigh. You reach the top of your inner thigh and can’t help the shaky breath you let out.

“Thinking about me?” Danny’s voice makes you bolt upright. The sudden movement causes a wave of agony to wash over you, and you can’t restrain the noise that comes out of your mouth. You don’t sound like a dying animal, but it isn’t a pleasant sound. Danny’s eyes glitter in the dark. You try to ignore the way your inside seem to warm up slightly at the obvious delight on his face.

You have no idea how long he’s been in your room. He’s sitting in the chair, cloaked with the shadows that nighttime brings into your space. You give him a look, and he lets out a soft chuckle. He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He uses one hand to prop his chin up, a mischievous grin on his face.

“Don’t stop on my account.” He purrs. You roll your eyes.

“What do you want?” You let out a huff.

“Don’t be like that, babe. I like it when people put on a show.”

“I’m not in the mood to deal with your mouth. What do you want?”

“I don’t know. I think you might be in the mood for my mouth.” His grin turns into a smirk. You groan, and he laughs. “As lovely as that was starting to be, I’m here to discuss business.”

“Oh, goodie.” You drawl. You move, adjusting yourself and putting a pillow behind your back and one behind your head. “What’s on the agenda for today?”

“We need to discuss the actual plan. Break it down into the nitty gritty details.” He shifts, the chair groaning. “It’s all well and good we’re both down to, ah, use each other, but it’s not a good revenge if it’s just a general plan.”

“Okay. We should start with the anticipated end, right?”

“Way ahead of you there, doll.” He clicks his tongue. “I’m thinking we end this whole schtick with a _bang_.”

You roll your eyes. “I’m assuming you mean it in the sex way as opposed to the bomb way.”

“See? You get me already! It was meant to be.” Danny sounds far too delighted for your tastes. 

“So what? You want to make a video?”

“I was thinking more of a live show.” Both of your eyebrows shoot upwards. If you were honest, you’d vaguely entertained the idea of making a sex tape, but it seemed too... You didn’t know the word. You knew that you’d probably feel sexy, but you also knew that you had a habit of beating yourself up over your imperfections. That, and being so intimate in front of a camera was scary. What if someone got their hands on it? How would you look? 

The idea of fucking in front of your two exs was uncomfortable.

A little thrill did run down your spine at the thought, but your stomach balled itself into a knot. Your breath came out as a slightly panicked huff. With a video, if someone got their hands on it, you had a degree of separation, something to make it less personal and vulnerable. In front of someone? No. No no no no no.

“I-”

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re self-conscious, babe.” You hear the chair groan again, but you don’t have time to move before you feel Danny’s fingers brush against your face. He gently, but firmly, grips your chin and makes you turn your heads towards him. His eyes are bright, and if you didn’t know better, you could almost fall for the sincerity in them. “You have no reason to be. You’re so many people’s wet dream.”

“I’m not self-conscious.” You try to wriggle away, but his grip tightens.

“Don’t lie to me.” His tone darkens for a second. “I don’t care if you lie to yourself, but don’t pull that bullshit with me.”

Danny lets go of your chin and settles back into the chair. His anger dissipates as fast as it appeared.

“We’ll work up to it if that’ll make you feel better. Do a couple photo shoots and videos, that kind of thing.” His tone tells you there’s no arguing with him. You squirm, increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. You decide to change the subject slightly.

“Okay, but we can’t just do that. If we really want to hurt them, it has to look organic.”

“Oh, it will be.” He flashes you a smirk that makes your insides curl in a pleasant way. “Why do you think I decided to show up the other day to talk about journalism shit? I could have just written up some article and be done with it.”

You blink. Your mouth forms a small ‘o’ as the realization hits you.

“That.... that makes sense.” You pauses, pursing your lips together in thought. “Stu already seems uncomfortable, but that’s easy to do. It’s Billy we have to worry about. He’s going to be harder to make visibly jealous.”

Danny leans back in his chair. “That’s where I was hoping for some of your insights, babe. I can stalk them all I want to get a vague idea of what goes on inside their empty heads, but you. You know them better. You know how they tick in ways I don’t have the patience to find out.”

You worry your lower lip between your teeth as you think. “The strategy really depends on how fast you want this to go.”

“I’ve got no timeline. All I want is maximum suffering.”

“The most suffering will mean the slower plan. It’ll hurt them most if they can see it coming but can’t stop it. But that’s also a delicate balance. If it goes on too long...” You’re thinking more outloud than talking to Danny. “The first step would be for me to pretend to go back to them. I’ll have to withhold sex from them, though. That’ll make them suspicious.” You look at Danny. He’s reclined in the chair, one arm lazily thrown up over his head. His eyes are closed, but you can tell he’s listening to you. “You’re going to have to do romantic. Not the want-to-vomit type, but... sweet. Gentle.”

“Promise of a normal life type of deal? Or the totally whipped type?” He doesn’t open his eyes.

“No...” You sift through what you know of the two, trying to figure out exactly what you’re going for with it. “A little bit of white picket-fence type deal, a little bit hopeless romantic. Not fully American dream, but some elements. It has to be soft and caring, but there’s got to be some other element to it. As if we could accomplish more than they can.”

“So, what? Power couple who’s madly in love with one another?” He cracks one eye open. 

“No. Soulmates.” You say it with such authority that Danny opens both of his eyes all the way. He gives you a curious look. “We have to get that inevitability deal in there. That will drive them crazy if they think there’s nothing they can do to change it. And it has to have that softness associated with it, that caring. But it can’t be too much. It’s got to be more than Billy can show, but it can’t be too much because they know I can only handle so much mushy. And we do want that power couple element because that’s a big thing to Billy.”

“Okay, great. That doesn’t help too much. I’m hearing your words, but a reference point would be nice.”

You pause, an idea slowly forming.

“We could...” You gnaw on your lower lip. Danny huffs.

“The suspense is killing me.” His voice is monotone.

“Hades and Persephone.” You finally say. 

“What?”

“Think about it.” You slowly become excited. “It’s got that classic idea to it, and they’re both a sucker for classic stories in their own ways. It’s got that power couple feeling. It’s also got that softness. But, most importantly...” You pause for effect. “It’s got acceptance on my part. Specifically, whatever darkness or danger that we want them to see. It’ll fucking hurt them. I chose someone’s else darker side over theirs? Not only chose it, but indulge in it?”

Danny slowly nods, clearly thinking it over. A grin begins making its way onto his face.

“Yeah. It’s got all that mushy, sappy shit that what’s his name can’t do. It’s got that fantasy, almost fairy-tale deal that twitchy boy is a sucker for. And it’s basically a kick to their balls if you’re down with my craft and not theirs.” He looks at you. Something about his delighted expression looks vicious, like a cat that’s got a mouse trapped. 

“Doll, you’re just about as brilliant as I am.” Slowly, Danny stands up. “I’ll take it from here. I can work with this.” He saunters towards the door. After a moment, he stops and turns to look at you.

“I’ll see ya tomorrow, lover.” He laughs before he makes his way out of the room. You can hear him whistling as he goes down the hall, and you have no doubt his grin is downright terrifying.


	5. Visiting Hours

You're drifting in and out of sleep the next morning when Billy and Stu show up to check on you. Thankfully, they had the foresight to bring you coffee. Stu settles himself at the end of the bed, legs crossed over one another. Billy takes the chair as he always does.

"When do you think you'll get out?" Stu's voice is a little hard to understand because of the donut in his mouth. Powdered sugar nearly goes everywhere. You wrinkle your nose, and he laughs. Billy rolls his eyes.

"The nurse said it should be soon. They're thinking within the next week." You idly pick at a stray fiber on the blanket. "I can't wait to be in my own bed."

"At home." Billy's tone leaves no doubt which home he means. You nod.

"Yeah. I'm not exactly keen on going back to that apartment. I think it might still be considered a crime scene anyway."

"Good. You can transfer back while you're home." Stu takes the time to lick the sugar from his fingers before grabbing another one. 

"I'm actually thinking about taking some time off." You counter. "I feel like I need time to get my head on straight."

"What's there to straighten out?" Billy leans back in the chair. His tone is nonchalant, but his posture is anything but. It's clear he's upset with you at the suggestion. You shrug.

"I don't know, but I feel like going straight back to school isn't the smartest option." He nods at that, his body relaxing some. "I just need time to think of what I really want. Near death experiences do that to you."

"What is it you think you might want?" The dark-haired man is clearly in some sort of mood. It’s making you uncomfortable.

“Dude, the hell has gotten into you?” Stu questions. Billy shrugs.

“I think we’ve waited long enough for answers.” His eyes are blazing, anger making him clench his jaw. You want to shuffle backwards, away from Billy, but there’s nowhere for you to go. Thankfully, someone knocks on the door. The door swings open slightly, and you see Jed. He’s wearing glasses today, and it makes you want to smile. Clearly, he’s going for some sort of Clark Kent look.

“Hey. Can I come in?” Jed keeps his voice gentle. You nod.

“Of course.” He steps into the room and quietly shuts the door behind him. He’s playing mild-mannered, but some of his movements still scream how dangerous he is. He goes over to Billy and Stu, introducing himself to each of them. Stu doesn’t seem too bothered by a new person while Billy becomes even more hostile. He doesn’t say anything, but his body language screams that he doesn’t want Jed in the room.

“Hey, are you that reported dude from a couple weeks ago?” Stu wipes the powdered sugar off of his face with the back of his hand. Jed gives him a tight-lipped smile.

“That’s me.” He looks at you. “Is now a bad time? I can come back later.”

You shake your head. “No, this isn’t a bad time. Did you have more questions?” You can almost feel Billy trying not to glower. 

“I actually do.” Jed looks around, as if he’s trying to find the best place to sit. You turn to Billy, ready to ask him to move. His glower becomes even darker, but he does move before you can ask. He settles himself on the bed beside you. He puts an arm around your shoulder as Jed thanks him and takes the spot.

“What did you have questions about?” You shift under the pretense of trying to get comfortable. You’re actually trying to figure out how to get away from Billy without drawing too much attention to what you’re doing. Stu moves as well, unfolding his legs and throwing them over the edge of the bed to let them dangle. Well, as much as they can. The boy is too damn lanky, so the balls of his feet touch the floor.

“I’ve got several things I wanted to ask you about.” Jed pulls a notebook out from his messenger bag and pushes his glasses up at the bridge of the nose. You try not to snicker when you see which finger he uses. “The police traced your phone records, and they say you got a call earlier that day. Only a couple hours before. Was it a regular call?”

“A friend checking in on me.”

“Wait, who?” Stu looks at you. “You never told us about that, babe.”

“Randy just wanted to check in.” You shrug. “You know how he gets sometimes.”

“How did Randy have your number?” Billy’s voice is low. Jed points the edge of his pencil towards Billy.

“I was actually curious about that. The ID put it from back home, but I was under the impression you had changed your number recently.” He smiles, and it makes you want to shy away from him. Of course his fun would come at your expense as well.

“I...” You have to take a moment to gather your thoughts. “I did. I might have told him it? I was in a film course, so I probably told him it because I was going to call if I needed to get my hands on a film.”

Jed nods. Stu gives you a confused look while Billy’s hands curl into fists.

“What film course could you need Randy’s help for?” Stu is clearly trying to make light of the situation, but it’s easy to hear a note of hurt in his voice. 

“It was some stupid 20s film course. I assumed Randy could find a copy of one of the rarer ones.” 

“So you wouldn’t say it had anything to do with what happened that night?” You nod. Stu laughs.

“Randy couldn’t hurt a fly. Mainly because he’d be incapable.” Stu snorts. Billy’s grim expression lightens somewhat. 

“You said right before you were attacked you say a flash of light?” You nod. Jed makes a face before pulling an envelope out of his bag. You notice it’s the same type of envelope the photos came in. The photos that started the whole thing. He holds the envelope out to you, and you take it carefully. “These showed up on my doorstep.”

Your hands shake despite your best efforts. “Do I want to...?”

“They are a bit disturbing. It’s ultimately up to you.” Jed leans back in the chair. He’s watching you from under hooded eyes. Stu has gone slightly pale, as if the idea of seeing your hurt immortalized genuinely disturbs him. Billy seems to be torn between curiosity and repulsion. 

“Question, Jed. It is Jed, right?” Jed raises an eyebrow as he leans forward. 

“Jed. That’s right.”

“Can I ask how you got ahold of these?” Billy’s eyes turn dark. “Seems kind of odd, doesn’t it?”

Jed laughs, a low sound. He leans back into the chair, legs spreading apart slightly. “There’s a reason I’ve been assigned to the Ghostface’s cases around here.”

“Wait, around here?” Stu sounds confused. “But, I thought...”

“Thought what?” The eyebrow comes back up.

“Well we’ve just got one around from where we’re all from. I thought that dude was the only one.” Stu tries to hide his distress behind confusion.

“Nope.” Jed pops the p. “I did a little digging because I’d heard something similar. Turns out the Woodsborough one is some sort of copycat.”

“Copycat?” It’s Billy’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Yeah. The ones here happened first and for a while. I read up on some of the ones from where you are from, and the first ones there are eerily similar to some of the ones here.” Jed’s eyes glitter with barely contained malice. You watch the two other men out of the corner of your eyes. Stu seems to be growing more and more upset with every passing second. Billy is trying to play it cool. You know him well enough to know it’s an act. “But to answer your earlier question, I was one of the many journalists covering the case originally. I guess one of my articles must have caught his attention or something because I got some letter in the mail from the Ghostface. The original one. Next thing you know, I’m that reporter.”

“Copycat.” Stu repeats, turning to look at Billy. 

“I did say that, yes.” Jed grins. You, meanwhile, have finally worked up the courage to open the envelope. You don’t pull them out yet, instead opting to pull the envelope flaps further apart. You want to get an idea of how bad they are without pulling them out. You don’t want to get a full look at them in case they’re too much. A confused expression crosses your face. It’s the same ones Jed sent you. You close the envelope and hold it back out to Jed.

“I- I can’t.” You tell him, voice choking slightly. “It’s too much.” Jed’s expression softens, becoming more comforting. He takes it back, his fingers brushing against yours briefly. The contact sends a brief zing of pleasure up your spine. A smile crosses your face. 

“I understand.” He says, his tone comforting. Beside you, you can feel Billy stiffen. Jed stands up slowly. “I’ll come back if I have more questions.” He goes towards the door but stops right before opening it. “I suspect I might have more questions.”

‘Come by if you do.” You respond. Jed chuckles before slipping out the door. Billy and Stu look at you.

“What was that about?

Billy’s expression darkens. “Do you have something you want to tell us?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn and get more domestic than you expect!
> 
> Warnings: mentions of cheating but nothing happens, mentions and discussions of murder, heavy undertones of domestic violence. Stay safe y'all.

“No.” You look between the two of them. “Why?”

“You don’t make friends easily.” Billy points out. He stands up and starts to walk. Well, pace is more accurate. “It took us weeks to get you out of your shell.”

“Yeah.” Stu chirps. “We even had people we could ask to help us out. How come he was able to do that easily?”

You shrug. “I don’t know?” You offer. That answer seems to agitate him even more, so you quickly add to your explanation. “Look. I’m a different person than I was then. I’m not as guarded as I used to be.” You pauses. “You’re both acting like I’m going to invite him to my birthday party.”

“Would you?” Billy counters.

“I mean, I don’t think so?” You look between Billy and Stu. “It’s not a social convention, so I don’t have to.”

“If you did invite him, he would totally show up.” Stu mutters, more to himself than to you. He takes another donut from the box. 

“What is with you two?” You scrunch your nose. “Why are you two acting like this?”

Billy laughs. It’s a bit unhinged, and it makes you shrink back into the bed. “What is with us?” He asks before turning to face you. Hurt and rage are on his face. “You left us. No warning, no goodbye, not even a note. We had no idea where you were or if you were okay. You leave no one anyone to get in contact with you. When we do finally get an idea of what happened, you’re in the fucking hospital. And we find out the only person you’ve told anything to is Randy.”

“I’m no-”

“Don’t.” Billy gives you a look that makes you want to cower. “Not unless you’re going to tell us the truth.”

You turn to Stu. You hope that maybe he’s inclined to help, but he just shrugs. “I’m with Billy on this. I’ve missed you, don’t get me wrong. But we also kinda need answers.”

You let out a long breath. “I-” A million thoughts swirl through your head as you try to figure out what to say. Do you tell them what you know? Or do you come up with a lie? Can you even come up with a good enough lie? “I got scared.” You finally whisper. Tears begin to well up in your eyes, and you blink hard. You bring your hand up to wipe them away before they start to form. 

“Scared? Of what?” Stu questions.

“I don’t know!” You respond, more viciously than you meant to. You have to take a deep breath. “I just got scared, okay?”

“Are you cheating on us?” Billy finally asks. His tone is icy, so icy it sends a chill up your spine.

“No.” Your response is automatic, somewhere between hurt and confused. It was technically true, you weren’t cheating on them. “Why would you think that?”

“Why only leave Randy your contact info then?” He challenges.He turns to face you, slamming both of his hands on the table at the end of the bed.

“Because Randy is literally the least threatening person I know?” You’re trying so hard to not lose your cool. You hated fights like this even before you knew who the boys really were. Billy looks at you.

“Threatening?” Both he and Stu echo at the same time.

“Like... not going to try and get in my pants.” You clarify. The two are silent for a moment before Stu starts giggling. His giggles so turn into cackles. Billy’s posture softens some. His hands remain on the table, but his jaw unclenches a little.

“Holy shit.” Stu gasps. He slaps his leg hard before trying to cover his mouth. “Oh my God. I can’t fucking wait to tell him. This is too good.”

“What?” Your brow furrows in confusion. “Did I say something weird?”

Billy says your name, making you look at him. “Think about it.” He chides. His jaw is now completely unclenched. Something like a smile ghosts across his face. “What did you say?”

“I said that Randy is the least threatening as in he wouldn’t try to get into my pa-” You stop yourself, eyes going wide. “Oh. Oh no. Poor Randy.” That sends Stu into another fit of laughter. This time, he practically howls with how hard he’s laughing. Billy’s shoulder lower, and this time, the smile stays.

“You really didn’t know?” The dark-haired man asks, coming over to your side. He takes a seat on the end of the bed as well. 

“You know I’m not good at telling things like that!” You protest.   
“Okay, but even a blind guy would know.” Stu manages. 

Thankfully, the boys seem content to poke fun at you for not realizing that Randy had a crush on you. Neither of them brings up the conversation for several days. You can tell Billy is still thinking about it, though. He’ll get a pensive look on his face when he thinks you’re not paying attention. Everytime you see that look, it makes a knot form in the pit of your stomach. You don’t like that look one bit.

You get a bit of a break from them when midterms come around. Neither of them can use you being in the hospital as an excusable absence. You don’t know if they try or not. You suspect Stu does, but you don’t know about Billy. You’re grateful for it, though. It gives you some time to yourself. Between them being at your side during the entirety of visiting hours and various others coming by, you need space. Oddly enough, you don’t think you’d mind if Jed came by to visit. Talking to him is refreshing in a strange way. It was also incredibly nerve wracking because he was the one who put you in the hospital in the first place. Still. You suspect it might be due to the fact that you don’t have to pretend when he’s around. You realize with every interaction you’re acting on some level. You’re acting like you don’t know who attacked you or who Billy and Stu actually are. You have to make excuses for why you left and didn’t write or call. It’s exhausting.

You don’t have to act around Jed. You don’t have to pretend about anything. Hell, you almost feel like Jed would encourage you to give life to some of your darker thoughts. You’ve had a lot of them swirling around your head recently. Now that you know the truth about your two, ex?, boyfriends, things seem clearer. It’s hard to not backslide at first. Part of you wanted to believe that they weren’t killers. Then you start to notice little things, and you can’t excuse your naivety. You should have seen it to start with, should have known. It makes you angry, first at yourself and then at them. You know replacing them with another murderer isn’t better, but at least Jed had the decency to be upfront about it. You knew more about who Jed was from the moment you met him than you ever did with Billy and Stu.

It doesn’t help you’re catching things now that you would have missed before. You don’t like the look Billy gets sometimes. You have no doubt in your mind that the minute you left without a word, Billy had planned your murder. You can tell he’s still debating whether or not to go through with it. That makes your anxiety worse, knowing that if you don’t convince him you left because of something wrong with you he’d kill you. He might decide to do it anyway. 

You’ve been thinking about that this past week. Your brain has turned inward, running over all the possibilities, since you’ve been mostly by yourself. You feel like you’re driving yourself crazy. You’ve started getting up and walking around so you at least have something to distract yourself from your own mind. You’ve gone over to the window to look out at the full moon in the sky when the door creaks open. You whirl around without a second thought. Your sigh of relief is soft but audible. Jed’s eyes seem to twinkle in the darkness.

“Rough night?” He asks, shutting the door softly behind him. 

“How do you get in here without people noticing?” You can’t help asking.

“I’m just good like that.” He moves silently across the room. You expect him to stop at the chair or at your bed, but he passes by them. He stops next to you. Up close, he smells like photo toner and ink and paper with something coppery lingering under it. You close your eyes. He smells like a dark room. A dark room that someone had bled out in. When you open your eyes, you see he’s pushed the curtain aside so he can look out it as well. You notice he’s wearing gloves.

“You come from a scene?” You finally ask after several long seconds. That makes him look at you. The moonlight streaming in from the window makes him look... ethereal isn’t the word you’re looking for, but it’s something close to that. 

“How’d you know?” Jed seems genuinely surprised you figured it out. You shrug.

“You smell like a dark room covered in blood.” You look back out the window.

“That’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me.” He intones in a flat voice. That makes you snort. 

“I’m sure it might actually be.” You fire back. 

“How do you know what a dark room smells like?” He asks. He sounds oddly curious. 

“I took a black and white photography class a while ago.” You shrug. “I liked it. I’ve been thinking about taking more classes like that. Maybe do a couple of experimental movie classes where I develop film like that.”

“You’re not pretentious enough to do well in classes like that.” His words make you snort again. 

“Who was it?” You want answers out of him.

“You’ll find out tomorrow.” He counters. You look back at Jed, and he’s facing you. He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face. “I’m not ruining the surprise.”

Your eyes narrow. “Alright then. Why’d you come by?” 

“I can’t visit a friend?” He teases. You roll your eyes in response. “How close are you to getting released?”

“I think within the next several days. Why?” You turn fully around to face him. Jed looks out the window for a long second.

“I took a look at your file on the way in. They’re thinking in two days.” He turns to face you. “I need you to understand something. I’m not telling you this shit to be your friend. I’m telling you this because this plan is a lot more fun when you’re alive.”

Ouch. That stung a little. You resist the urge to cross your arms. Something in his tone indicates that he’s about to make an exception of some kind. “Alright. Understood. What’s up?”

A smirk tugs at the corners of his lips. “Clever girl.” The words feel like a mocking praise. Jed glances out the window again. “You’ve noticed the wanna-be bad boy thinking, haven’t you?”

A sinking feeling starts to form in your stomach. You nod. “He’s going to kill me, isn’t he? He’s finally decided?” Your voice comes out a whisper but not a horrified one. More of a resigned one. Jed lets out a strange noise.

“He’s been thinking about it enough we need to alter the plan.” He says after several seconds of silence. “I wanted to play cat and mouse for a while. I think we still can, but things need to change.”

“So what?” This time, you do cross your arms over your chest. “I assume you don’t want to speed things up if you still want to have your fun.”

“We need to work on your survival skills. If they come for you, you need to be able to tell where they are just from background noise.” Jed turns to fully face you. “I’m not having you ruin this for me by dying early on.”

“No, I get it. You don’t give a shit if I die so long as I don’t die early on.” You’re surprised at how bitter you sound. You let out a sigh. You feel like you should apologize but don’t want to. So you don’t.

“This is all just acting.” Jed scoffs. “I’m just trying to protect you so you don’t catch feelings. That will fuck things up.”

You nod. “Yeah, you’re right.” You finally concede. You suddenly feel tired. “What’s the plan, then, if I get out in two days? I’m guessing you’re not sending me home with _them_.”

To your surprise, Jed’s upper lip curls in disgust. “No.” His voice is authoritative. “I don’t trust them.”

“Well, unless you plan to put me in witness protection. Which wouldn’t work for your plan.” His eyes light up for a second.  
“Not witness protection, but something close to it.” He suggests. You can tell he’s thinking of a plan. He looks back out the window and drums his fingers on the glass for a second. You take a moment to admire him. He’s very handsome in profile. You almost want to take a picture of him. “Could use the fact that they think I’m safe from Ghostface...” He muses aloud. Jed suddenly turns away from the window. You can see the moment he figures it out because a pleased smirk makes its way onto his face.

“I’ve got some work to do.” He announces. “It’ll be ready by the time you’re out.”

Just as he said, the doctors discharge you several days later. You had been hoping that Billy and Stu were going to be at school still when that happened. You weren’t so lucky. The two of them are clearly elated you’re out. Stu can’t stop talking.

“You have no idea how happy I am.” He’s practically skipping as he walks backwards. “I’ve missed you so much. I mean, I know I’ve seen you practically every day, but it’s not the same. We couldn’t cuddle or, you know...” He pauses to waggle his eyebrows.

“Doctor said it’d be several weeks before that.” Billy’s right beside you, an arm lazily slung over your shoulder. It had taken all of your self-control to not shudder when he touched you. He seems to be in better spirits now that you’ve been released.

“I really don’t want to risk it.” You gently say.

“I know, but we can at least think about it.” Stu whines. Billy huffs, rolling his eyes.

When you finally get outside and get fresh air, it feels wonderful. The hospital air had started to feel old and stale by the end of your first week. You take a moment to stretch, luxuriating in the sunlight. Billy stays on your left while Stu stands on your right. The taller of the two is chattering away about something. It’s clear he’s excited that you’re finally out. He keeps on playfully nudging you, and he’s already come up with a long list of things that the three of you are going to do now that you’re all back together.

“Seriously, Stu!” You slap his hands away from you, the movement as playful as his. “Quit it with the food talk. I don’t want to spend my first day out of the hospital curled up in bed with a stomach because I ate too much.”

“Nonsense. You can’t eat too much.” Stu automatically looks to Billy. The dark-haired man had been oddly silent this whole time. Not just oddly. Scarily silent. It’s clear he’s upset over something. You would put money on it being Jed’s visit from last week. You knew that Billy would get upset over it, but you didn’t expect him to get that upset so quickly. Billy clearly isn’t paying attention to either of you, eyes focused on something on the horizon.

“Billy? You with us, man?” Stu jokingly snaps his fingers in front of Billy’s face. That finally prompts a reaction. With a noise of pure annoyance, Billy tries to grab Stu’s hand.

“Don’t snap at me.” Billy hisses, sounding like a feral animal. Stu raises his hands in mock surrender and takes a step back. His expression does give away his concern.

“Hey, are you alright? You seem out of it.” Stu asks. You nod in agreement.

“Stu’s right. You’ve been acting a little weird.” You watch Billy. Billy’s gaze goes back to wherever it was he was looking before Stu interrupted him.

“Your wanna-be boyfriend is here.” Billy points to a figure coming towards you. It takes you a moment to realize that it is Jed. A smile makes its way onto your face; you hadn’t been expecting him. He’s wearing his glasses today. They make him look like a silver fox version of Clark Kent. The messenger bag at his side only serves to emphasize that. He waves at you. You know the whole look is meant to get under Billy and Stu’s skins, a subtle way of showing that he’s more intelligent and more attractive than them, but it sends a thrill up your spine. You can’t help thinking that he’s dressing up to see you.

In a roundabout way, he was.

You head towards him, ignoring Billy and Stu. Stu follows you. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see him looking at you with curiosity. Billy stays back for a second, and you can feel him giving you a dirty look. When he does start walking, it’s a leisurely pace.   
“Are you two friends?” Stu asks as you walk over to Jed. That makes you pause for a second, your pace faltering. You hadn’t thought about how you’d respond to that particular question, but you also hadn’t expected to get it so soon. 

“I guess?” Your voice is rife with uncertainty. “He was one of the few people who visited me regularly. But he could also have just been doing his job. Why do you ask?”

“You two just seemed to hit it off.” Stu is bad at feigning innocence. You look at him out of the corner of your eye. A wry smile makes its way onto your face. He’s clearly bothered by this whole thing. 

“Hey.” Jed’s voice catches your attention. You look at him. “Glad to see you’re up and about. How are you feeling? Enjoying your first day of freedom?”

“I’m feeling a lot better.” You smile shyly at him. “I just checked out, so I haven’t really had much freedom to enjoy yet.” Stu rests an arm lazily around your shoulder. You hear Billy come up behind you, and you feel another arm wrap around your waist. You try to keep your irritation off your face.

“Well, we can go over what you might want to do in the car.” Jed seems almost sheepish saying that. Your eyebrows shoot into your hairline. You’re sure Stu’s and Billy’s do the same.

“In the car...?” You echo. Jed rubs the back of his neck, looking towards the ground.

“I didn’t have a chance to tell you because of work. We had a new killing, so they kept me busy.” He explains. “But, uuuhhh, there was a meeting, and it was decided that you needed to be kept safe since you’re the only one to live. People seem to think that since this killer’s good graces extend to me that you’ll be safe staying with me.” He pauses. “There’s going to be round the clock security details outside of the place. And you can still see your...” He gestures almost uselessly at Billy and Stu.

“Boyfriends.” Billy provides.

“Yeah. It’s not full witness protection. I didn’t think you’d like that, having to uproot your life again. You can’t have them at the house, but it’s better than the alternative. I guess.” Jed is good at selling the act, so good. He nods towards the car. “So, let’s go.”

You can feel the anger radiating off of Billy. Stu seems physically hurt. He looks at you with puppy dog eyes.

“I mean, if it keeps me safe...” You mimic Jed’s hesitancy. “I can still see both of you.” You offer, trying to placate them.

“Yeah, but I wanted you to be at the house.” Stu whines. He pauses before turning to Jed. “We already have the best security set up, man. No one could get in. Hell, we could probably hire a cop to be there.”

“Stu.” You reach out and place a gentle hand on his arm. “I don’t think that will work.”

“Yeah. She kinda needs to stay in this city.” Jed really does sound sorry. “It wouldn’t be good if they can’t find her or if she needs help and is hours away.”

You turn to look at Billy. His jaw is set. You can almost hear his teeth grinding. “Whatever we need to do to keep her safe.” He finally spits out. He turns to look at you. “You’ll see us regularly.” It sounds almost like a threat.

“Of course. I’ve learned my lesson.” You tell them. Billy seems somewhat consoled by the fact.

“Let’s go. They’ve been waiting.” Jed’s voice makes you turn your attention back to him. You slip from the duo’s embrace. They both looked incredibly unhappy.

“I’ll see you both as soon as I finish getting settled.” You promise. Jed clears his throat, and the two of you begin walking away. The car isn’t parked far away. He opens the passenger’s side door for you. You’re a little confused as to why when you catch a glimpse of Billy and Stu in the rearview mirror. They seem to be in a heated discussion as they head to their car.

“Don’t worry about your stuff.” Jed grunts as soon as he gets in the car. “Already moved it. And I can lose these bozos real quick if they follow.” He doesn’t put his seatbelt on before starting to drive away. You look at him.

“How did you...?” You trail off. He snorts.

“You really think the police would sanction this?” He scoffs. “Please. If they ask, I’ve got friends who’ll vouch for me no matter what. As for the house, I did manage to find someplace that’ll work. I’ve got safehouses all over.”

“Okay. I’ll be in a safehouse alone then. I can work with that.” You nod to yourself.

“Oh, no. Not alone.” Jed smirks at you. His eyes keep on flicking to the mirror, and you can tell he’s trying to gauge where the other two are. “We’re officially living together.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're beginning to realize that maybe getting back at two serial killers by teaming up with another serial killer wasn't the smartest plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for some really possessive behavior, but nothing comes of it yet.

“I’m sorry?” You ask Jed. You almost want to mime cleaning your ears out so you could make sure you heard him better, but you get the sense he wouldn’t appreciate the joke. A sinking feeling begins to build in the pit of your stomach. It was one thing for you to participate in a game of chicken between serial killers. Moving into a place with the arguably more dangerous one was an entirely different beast. Your brow furrows. Your lips tighten to form a thin line. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Jed smirk.

“I know. This is moving pretty fast for me too.” He intones. “But I want to spend the rest of our lives together.” It's clear he's not being sincere from his monotone. That's emphasized when he starts cackling. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself."

"I don't think this is a good idea!" You protest. "There's got to be something that'll be easier."

Jed snorts. "You must think I'm dumb and didn't run all the numbers." His tone is dry. You notice that he's gripping the steering wheel a little tighter. "I know what I'm doing. It makes the most sense for our end goal with this. Do you have any idea of how long we'd have to wait to make the world think we've fallen in love? How tedious that would be? Since we'll be spending so much time together, people will buy that it happened quicker." He looks into the rearview mirror again and shakes his head. "Persistent fuckers. Hold on." He switches lanes suddenly and floors it at the same time, causing you to grab the door handle. Jed laughs. "It'll also be easier for us to plan our next steps. You know fake talk, dark, and handsome won't let you out of his sight if he thinks someone else has designs on you. I don't want any eavesdropping either."

You're beginning to realize just how bad of an idea this is. It was different when you were in the hospital. More theoretical than anything else. Now, though. Now it was way too real, and you wanted off this crazy ride.

"Aaawww, don't go having second thoughts on me now." Jed mock pouts. He looks at you and grins. It's a nasty grin, one that makes you sink back into your seat. "You're stuck with me now. If you leave..." He trails off meaningfully. You swallow. You nod your understanding. 

"I understand." You murmur.

"You're a fast learner." His eyes go once more to the rearview. " They really must not trust me." Your feelings of trepidation and fear are replaced with sheer terror as Jed devotes all of his attention to losing the boys. It's reckless driving for sure but not reckless enough that someone would call the cops. Just enough to be written off as a supreme asshole. You’re not surprised to see that he’s enjoying this. You don’t pay attention to the twists and turns because he’s trying to throw Billy and Stu off of his trail. There’s no point in trying to map anything out in your head. Instead, you get comfortable. You lose count of how many times you have to close your eyes because of how close you come to getting hit. Eventually, he turns down a side alley that takes the two of you to a gas station. He parks between two other cars. He doesn’t get out, though.

“I assume we’re waiting for them to pass?” You remark idly. Jed turns his head slightly to look at you. It gives an odd edge to his expression. It’s hard to decipher. You can tell he’s somewhat pleased, but you’re not sure how much or why. 

“Tell me.” He turns all the way in his seat to face you. “You seem more intelligent than the average person. Not as much as me, of course. How did you end up with those two? Sure, mommy issues might be close to average, but gangly is dumber than a blonde tv anchor.” 

You shrug. “I mean, I don’t know. I guess they seemed to understand me more than other people?” You offer. To your surprise, Jed is intently focused on you. It would be scary in another context, but in this one it was... nice. It seemed like he honestly wanted to know about you. You had to actively remind yourself that he probably didn’t care one way or the other. Most likely he was buttering you up to get you to do something for him later. It was nice to pretend, though.

“Knowing what you know now, do you think it was a real connection?” His tone is a strange mix between blunt and genuinely curious. “Or do you think they did their research?”

“I-” You close your mouth. Your brow furrows, and a small frown makes its way onto your face. At the time, it had seemed like a genuine connection. Maybe it’s because you wanted it to be one? Or was it just a lie? Maybe it was both. You could have had some sort of bond with the two, but it might not have been as strong if they hadn’t done their research. You look down towards the floorboard. Your frown becomes less of a thoughtful one and more of an upset one. 

“I’m not trying to upset you.” Jed’s voice brings you back. “I’m genuinely curious.”

“Does it matter?” You finally respond. You look up towards him. He raises an eyebrow. “I mean, whatever they did, it clearly worked.”

“It doesn’t matter in that way.” He lifts up his elbows and pops the center compartment open, quickly reaching into it. He fishes out a pack of cigarettes. He closes the console and offers you one from the carton. You regard it for a long minute. “Either you want one or you don’t. Don’t agonize over it.” Hesitantly, you take one. Jed pulls a lighter from one of his pockets. He pauses and lets out a soft laugh. “Never smoked before?”

“Not cigarettes.” You counter. He holds out his hand, and you blink. He rolls his eyes.

“Give me. We’ll just share this one.” Jed makes it sound like the most obvious thing in the world. You hand it to him. He slips it back into the carton. Carefully, almost as if he’s telegraphing his movements, he takes the cigarette left in his hand and reaches across the space between the two of you. The space suddenly feels smaller but in a good way. He taps it against your lips. You don’t even realize you’ve parted them until he slips it in between them. He lets out a soft chuckle. “You have to hold it.” He teases. You blink, feeling stupid. You cautiously take a hold of it, slipping it between two of your fingers. He leans forward, and oh. He’s closer than you realized. The sound of the lighter flicking to life is loud in the space. Not nearly as loud as your heartbeat. You see his tongue stick out of his mouth ever so slightly as he concentrates on getting the lighter started. He cups one hand around the end of the cigarette and uses the other to light it. 

The move had always seemed intimate on tv or during movies, but now... You can’t help the blush that colors your face. It doesn’t help that his gaze has barely left your face. He gives the smallest of nods. You inhale. It burns and stings on the way down your throat, making you cough. Jed outright smirks. You hand the cigarette off to him. You try to let the lingering smoke out in a controlled manner. He takes a long drag from it, rolling down the windows to let the smoke dissipate. 

“You’ll get use to it.” He exhales slowly. The cloud seems to linger for a second before going out the window. “I don’t usually do this. Don’t want it to fuck up my lungs. My real job requires way more cardio than you would think.”

“I’d figure you would have to have a runner’s stamina.” You point out. Your throat burns some. Jed nods before taking another drag. 

“Yeah. You do. You have no idea how fast someone is going to be. That, and you can’t skip leg or arm day. Dead people are heavy.” He watches as the smoke billows out the window.

“Then why did you pick it up?” You have to admit; you’re curious. He shrugs.

“Blend in. People will notice a creep on a corner and get weirded out. But if you’re smoking, then you’re no longer a creep. Just someone looking for a fix. It makes you invisible.” Jed seems more subdued now. You like it. It’s a lot easier to deal with him when he’s this way. He’d been scary, so scary, not moments ago. A feral intensity shining through in a way you didn’t expect. He turns to look at you once more. “But you already know that, don’t you?”

You can tell he’s trying to get at something. You’re just not sure what exactly. “Yeah. I do.” You look out the window for a second. You don’t know why you answered honestly. Not that it mattered if you lied or not; Jed couldn’t exactly judge for your decisions. It felt right to be honest in that moment. He’s clearly watching you. You don’t get the sense that you’re a bug under a microscope. It seems more like a reevaluation.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Jed taps the cigarette on the side of the car. You can smell more of the cigarette now the ashes are gone. "I think they were the only ones you saw who seemed like you. I don't mean surface you. I'm talking deep down you."

You narrow your eyes at him. "What? Are you saying I want to hurt people?"

"Yes." He says it like you're stupid for not realizing. "You're in this because you want to hurt them. You getting with someone else? That's a kick to the groin for them. But you not only leaving them for me? The one they tried to rip off? You might as well cut their hearts out. That'd be less painful." Jed takes another drag. "I like it."

"Of course you do. You're a murderer." You murmur. The seat creaks as he shifts.

"A fact you don't seem to mind." He reaches over and taps your nose. You give him a look, and he merely grins. "Let's face it, doll. You know the chances of this ending with you dying are pretty high. But you know that the potential reward is worth it." He exhales. This time, he funnels the smoke out of his nostrils. It makes him look like a dragon. "But there's a reward you haven't thought about."

"Oh?" Your raised eyebrow is meant to convey skepticism. Inside, you're more than a little curious. What could he possibly mean? Unless he was talking about getting dicked down by him, which you wouldn't be surprised if he is, you have no idea. Jed grins at you. 

"You know, me and you. We could rule the world." He says it so conversationally. "Think of what we could achieve. Together. I've got the nation cowering as it is, but I want something... more. I think you do too." His gaze is intense. It both scares you and intrigues you. It's a strange mix. You can see the thirst for power, the need for people to fear him. Then he looks at you, and it. You don't know. It shifts to something more primal. The lust is obvious; he blatantly lets his eyes roam over you. There's something else there. Like you're a trophy but more. Like you would be the greatest hunt in his life, and once he caught you, everyone would know. It makes a shiver run up your spine. It should be equal parts pleasant and afraid, but the pleasant winds out. "With the right coaching, you could become something great."

"And I suppose you'd be the one to teach me." Your tone is dry. Your mouth is dryer. 

"It's an incredibly generous offer." Jed points out. "I've worked alone. I 'don't play well with others'. But I've clearly reconsidered, given our partnership." The way he says partnership makes your relationship sound so intimate. "I'm baring my soul to you here."

"I-"

"Imagine how jealous they'd be. You'd not only be learning from the man who ruined a nation but also with him." He looks at you. "Tell me you don't crave that kind of power. Tell me you don't want to determine who lives and who dies. Tell me you don't want to play Death and be with Death."

Your heartbeat is fluttering in your chest. It's a lot, too much to think about. You don't know what to say or do. Would he react negatively if you said no? But if you say yes, you don't think you could kill pepe. But you do want some people to suffer, and you'd love to be the one to do it. Jed looks at you. A knowing smirk is on his face. 

"I'll give you time to figure it out." He starts the car. The engine roars to life so suddenly. "But understand this. The moment you said yes to my little plan, that's the moment you became mine." He looks fanatic and more than a little bit possessive. You’re honestly unsure of how to respond. It’s more than a little bit frightening. Everything is starting to feel like a mistake. You shouldn’t have decided to go along with this, shouldn’t have thought this was a good idea, shouldn’t have even left in the first place. You lean your head against the window. You’re exhausted. Your head hurts. Your eyes are unpleasantly dry but eyelids are super heavy. It feels as if all of your energy has been suddenly pulled from your body. You almost want to cry. The car ride alone has been an emotional rollercoaster, and you’re already tired of it. You just want to go home.

You must have passed out at some point because the view out the window is different. You frown. It looks like you're in the suburbs.

"Come on, Sleeping Beauty." Jed's tone holds a slightly mocking edge. "We're here."

You don't dignify his response with a verbal answer. Instead, you sit up straight and slip out of the car. You take the time to stretch before grabbing your bags. Jed didn't wait. He was already at the door by the time you got your things. You follow him. It's a little difficult, given you're still cautious about reopening your stitches. Eventually, you make it. The door closes behind you with a soft snick You drop your bags into the house and look around the entrance. The plan is more open than you expected, although you notice there's several corners and places that it would be easy to hide behind. The longer you look, the more you realize the space isn't that open. It just seems that way. 

Jed has turned on the lights as he went, so you follow the trail. You find him in the kitchen. He’s leaning against the granite-top island, arms crossed over his chest. You can hear the coffee maker bubbling and can smell the coffee. He seems deep in thought as he stares at the coffee maker. His lips are pursed tightly together. His brow is creased.

“So.” You decide to break the silence. He looks up at you, shifting slightly as he does so. “What’s the plan? I don’t mean in terms of Billy and Stu but in terms of neighbors. And my things.” You look at him expectantly. Something gleeful lights up Jed’s eyes, and the corners of his lips twitch slightly.

“I’ve already had movers bring your stuff. It’s all upstairs.” He states it matter-of-factly, so you know that’s not what caused the devious expression. He sniffs. “Most of what you have is useless, you know.” You cross your arms over your chest. “As for any nosy neighbors, I’m thinking we just tell them the same story we’ve been using. We’re just a young couple in love.” He snickers to himself.

“Why the big house, then?” You can’t help asking. The devious look comes back in full force.

“Why else?” He sounds so innocent. It takes you a moment.

“No.” You shake your head. “You can’t be serious.”

“What? You don’t want a normal life? Husband? Two and a half kids or whatever the fucking statistic is now?” He has the gall to sound hurt. His grin and the twinkle in his eyes undermines his tone. “We could have a good life, you know.”

“Quit it.” You tell him. You try to sound imperious, but you had to admit. The idea was amusing on a very morbid level. The idea of playing house with Jed was weird and downright dark with what he did in his spare time. It felt like Dexter but more darkly funny. The coffee machine beeps. Jed languidly makes his way over to it.

“I had them put your stuff in one of the room’s upstairs.” He grabs a mug from one of the cabinets above the machine. It’s clear you’re being dismissed with his tone. “Don’t touch any of my shit while you’re up there dealing with yours.” To make his point even more clear, he makes a shoo-ing motion before pouring coffee into his cup.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick tw for abuse? It's not physical or emotional, but uuuuhhhh, it's absolutely abuse. Oh, and threats of murder and descriptions of narcissism

The upstairs has three bedrooms. You automatically assume that Jed had claimed the master bedroom for his own, so you don’t bother looking at that one. It’s easy to tell which one that is. At the top of the staircase is a large open area. To the left, you can see a short hallway that leads to a bedroom. You guess that has to be the master bedroom. At the other end of the open area is a small hallway, marked by both sides having a wall. You follow it. The first door you see is open. That’s probably the one where the movers dumped your things. You peek inside.

It’s a decent sized room. Something tells you that it might be the smallest in the house, though. Your things are indeed in that room. You step inside and take a better look. It’s facing towards the back of the house so you have a lovely view of the backyard. It’s well-maintained. You snort. Of course it would be. Jed is all about appearances, and in a suburban neighborhood, that means your front lawn and backyard have to look fantastic. The grass is a luscious green and is neatly trimmed. Honestly, you have the urge to roll around in it like you did as a kid.

You meander out into the hall. The other room is directly across from the one you were just in. That one obviously has a view towards the front lawn. The grass is even greener out front, if that was even possible. You’re sure the neighbors probably ask Jed what he uses to keep the grass looking so good. You can’t help the small giggle that escapes you. You know that he either leaves the bodies or stages them, but the thought of him using them to make his grass look better than everyone else’s makes you laugh. 

This room has a bathroom attached. You had seen a door at the end of the hallway. You’re not sure if the other one is attached to the bathroom as well. You hadn’t bothered to check. You had been far more absorbed in mentally making fun of Jed for the backyard. You open the door and step inside. It’s a nice bathroom. Not spectacular by any means but fairly nice. You make your way back out to the hall. The one thing you noticed that there wasn’t a bed in either room, which made you a little suspicious. 

“What do you think? Does it meet your approval?” Jed’s voice nearly gives you a heart attack. You nearly double over as you put a hand over your heart. He’s leaning against the bannister, a sly smile on his face. You aren’t sure how he got up here without making any noise. He laughs at your reaction before taking a long sip of coffee.

“It’s nice. Very suburban.” You realize you hadn’t inspected the open area, so you start looking around it. “There’s no beds, though.”

You can practically hear Jed roll his eyes. “Every time I start to think you’re smart, you open your mouth and say something like that.”

“Then enlighten me, oh wise one.” You bite down on the inside of your cheek to keep from saying anything you know that you would be made to regret. Jed snorts.

“Don’t be a smart-ass. It doesn’t suit you.” When Jed takes another sip, you know he does it as loud as possible to piss you off. “We’re sharing a bed. Got to keep up appearances, remember?”

“Oh?” You’ve made your way around the entire room at this point. You tilt your head. The idea of sharing a bed with Jed sends two vastly different emotions through you. The first thought is pleasant. Jed is a handsome man, so the idea of sharing a bed with him is more than a little appealing. The second thought is chilling. You have no doubt in your mind that if the whim struck him, Jed would kill you. You don’t think he’d kill you in your sleep. You know that he’d wake you up before he began. The thought of being defenseless that close to someone like Jed makes an unpleasant feeling crawl up your spine. 

“Yeah. If we’re going to act like we’re married, then we have to share a bed.” He makes you feel so small and dumb with the way he says it. 

“What about my stuff?” You counter. “If someone comes in and snoops around, what are they going to think of all that?”

Jed shrugs. “Some of it can go in our room. The rest of it is shit my daughter from a previous marriage left her after she went off to college.”

“And the empty bedroom?”

“We’re a couple in love.” He watches your face. It takes you a minute to get the meaning of his words. When you do, you know that your expression is interesting. Jed snickers. “Come on, I can’t be that bad.”

“That’s no-” You pause. A thought crosses your mind that makes you snort. “Honey. I think we should talk about this, I mean, are we in a place financially where that’s reasonable?”

Jed stares at you for a long moment. You think you might have made him mad. The corners of his lips twitch. “Don’t be a fucking smart-ass.” He reminds you. His tone is curt, but there’s an undertone of amusement to it, as if you had surprised him with your response. “Also, don’t be that cloyingly sweet. People will think something is up.”

You want to argue that something is up, but you know that would be pressing it too far. You sense you’ve pressed your luck fairly far as it is. You have no doubt you’ve gotten further than anyone else has in that regard. Instead, you walk over to the bannister. You stand beside Jed and place your elbows on the railing. You stare out into the foyer. You’re suddenly hit with a strange feeling. If this was a movie, it would be the point where the protagonist wonders where their life went wrong and what they did to deserve this fate. You huff. It’s not exactly the best of thoughts.

Something occurs to you. You look your shoulder at Jed.

“Billy and Stu.”

“What about them?” Jed raises an eyebrow and takes another sip of his coffee.

“They’re going to want to see me, and I assume you don’t want them coming here.” Your voice is soft. “So what do we do? I can meet them in other places, but that has problems as well.”

The bannister creaks as Jed turns around and places his hands on it. He seems to be lost in thought as well.

“Wait. We did tell them I was in witness protection. So I’ll just tell them they can't come to the safe house because of that, and that I’m sneaking out to meet them.” The idea makes you beam. It seems like a nice little solution to all of the problems. Jed looks at you.

“Not bad. Except for the question of how are you going to get there?” His eyes glitter with malicious intent, as if he had been waiting to ruin your plan. “You’re not getting access to the car.”

“Hey, you’re the one who came up with the idea to break their hearts like this.” You fire back before you can think better. Your lips twitch as you desperately fight off a snarl. “You tell me.”

He stares at you for a long moment. His expression would be unreadable to anyone else, but you had an idea of what he might be thinking. Something in his eyes told you that he was wondering if it was really worth it, keeping you alive. You hope that he decides you’re worth the time and effort he’s put into this. His eyes narrow slightly, and his gaze flicks briefly towards the door. It’s quick, a micro expression. You catch it, though, and it tells you a lot. He’s not going to kill you. Not right now at least. Instead, he’s trying to figure out a way to punish you for that without going so far you’ll call the plan off right then and there. He drums his fingers against the railing idly. His jaw twitches.

“I’ll figure it out.” Jed states it with such authority. You know that his way of telling you to shut up about it until he comes up with a viable solution. His eyes haven’t left you. You can see all the potential things he’s plotting about what to do with you. The rational part of your brain screams at you for being a dumbass, but some other part of you is in control right now. You lift your chin up and give him a defiant look. 

He looks towards the downstairs. His shoulders are still tense. He takes a sip of his coffee. His shoulder suddenly drop, and he lets out a short laugh. Your stomach begins to churn.

“Go pick out some of your shit and put it in our room.” He motions towards the room with his head. “Not a lot. Enough to make people think we can stand each other. I’m going to be in my office.” He stands upright in a fluid motion and saunters down the stairs without looking back at you. You watch him go. You don’t trust him to not do anything right now. You wait until he’s downstairs to move. You decide to take a look at your shared bedroom first to get an idea of what you might want to bring into it. You hesitantly go over to it and open the door.

“Holy shit.” 

Looking at the room, you aren’t sure what exactly you could bring into it. It’s beautiful. Jed clearly had an eye for visual things beyond photography. The bed is massive. A giant down comforter covers it, and judging from the pillow cases, the sheets are silk. The floor is hardwood and has a large fur rug covering it. A chair is set up in the far corner. The closet doors are closed, but it looks as if it might be a walk-in closet. You go over to them and put your hands on the knobs but decide better of that. For some reason, you get the sense that Jed doesn’t want you to go in there unless he’s in the room to watch you.

On one side of the closet is a vanity. You suspect that he picked it out for you. It’s beautiful with lacquered wood and gleaming gold handles. The mirror on it is fairly large as well. You turn around to look again. Across from the bed is a large dresser. It’s beautiful as well. It looks as if the vanity and the dresser came from the same set. You look at the headboard, and yup, the whole room is clearly a set. A very high end and expensive set if the looks was anything to go by. You turn back to the dresser. A small mirror is above it, and on either side of it are two floor-length mirrors. On the far left of that wall is the door to the attached bathroom.

You roll your eyes. 

“Of course.” You aren’t entirely sure what you expected. Jed did seem like the type who would love to look at himself in the mirror. You look back at the bed again. It’s situated perfectly between two windows. A third window takes up most of the space on the other wall. Large prints of photos have been placed strategically around the room. You can tell that Jed took most of the photos. Something catches your eye. A dark trunk, the same lacquered wood and gold accessories as all of the other pieces of furniture, is at the end of the bed. You meander over to it.

The lock on the front of it speaks volumes.

You kneel down before it anyway. Something is on it, which surprises you. Everything else in the room is immaculate, but this isn’t. It’s a smudge. It’s on the smaller side, but it’s visible to you. You inch closer to get a better look at it. It’s a partial thumb print. The substance is dark and flaky. You swallow hard and stand up again. You know exactly what is in that trunk.

The bathroom seems very interesting all of a sudden. You make your way over to it and flip on the lights before stepping inside. Your eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.

Of course it’s covered in mirrors. That wasn’t a surprise. Everything in the bathroom is marble. Real marble, you’re pretty sure. You press your hand to the sink countertop, and it’s cold to the touch. Yeah, it has to be real marble. A small room off to the side houses the toilet. You look back at the main part of the bathroom. One of the showers with glass doors is there, which makes you roll your eyes. Another doro catches your attention, and you go through it.

This wasn’t a surprise. An absolutely massive tub takes up almost all of the space. The tub clearly has a hot tub setting because of the jets on the sides. A large window is right above the bathtub. It’s that weird crinkled glass that you can’t see through. That makes you smile. At least no one on the street would be able to see anything inside. You suspect that Jed is a little disappointed in that.  
With that, you make your way back out into the main hall. You have an idea of what things might look okay in there. You know you won’t be able to bring any sort of art into it. That was a given. Instead, you begin rifling through your thing to figure out what you wanted to put in it. You start with toiletries. For some reason, you feel self-conscious as you pull out a bottle of shampoo without a matching conditioner. It feels like you should have sets of things. You try to shove the feeling down and out of your mind. If Jed wants that, he’ll have to buy you sets. You pick them up and carry them into the bathroom. You go to put your shampoo and body wash in the shower.

You frown.

Of fucking course Jed had already bought you a matching set. The man was so focused on appearances he probably realized you wouldn’t have a full set. The thought makes your teeth clench. You honestly suspect that he’s probably bought you everything you might need but didn’t tell you just so you’d get pissed. He’s probably making you pick over your things for nothing. You take a deep breath and focus on unclenching your jaw. It’s fine. It was all going to be fine. 

You check the dresser. Sure enough, in one of the drawers is underwear that he clearly bought for you. You don’t go through it all, but you can tell it’s stupidly expensive. You huff. 

The worst part about all of it was the conflict emotions it brought up. Yes. It was nice that Jed was doing all of this. He had literally bought you top of the line and name brands things. What bugged you was the fact that it was clear it wasn’t for you; it was for him. None of this was actually about you. It was about how you would look on his arm as the two of you went to an event or a function. You hadn’t even gone anywhere with him, and you already felt like a Barbie doll. Jed was going to dress you up as he saw fit and do what he pleased.

You wrinkle your nose.

Fuck that bullshit.

You place your mismatching shampoo and conditioner in the shower along with your body wash. You weren’t so stupid that you would throw out what he had given you, but the message was clear. You weren’t going to be some plaything for him. You would use up everything you had brought with you before you used what he had bought you. Was it petty? Absolutely. Would it get you into trouble? Probably. He might kill you for it, but you doubt he would. You think he’s spent too much time and effort on you so far.

Moving your things takes multiple trips. Every time you see that he’s bought you something, it brings up conflicted feelings. He did go to a lot of trouble to get all of this for you. You have to remind yourself over and over that it wasn’t about you; it was about what made him look good. You’ve moved most of your things when it’s time to move your clothes over. You go over to the closet and try to open it. The handles rattle uselessly. You try again with no results. You huff. He’d probably locked it. You make your way downstairs. You think you saw an office somewhere.

It takes a bit of searching, but you find his office. He’s sitting at a desk. He’s got a pair of glasses on, and it adds a dignified air. You can see he’s cycling through the pictures on his camera. His tongue is sticking the tiniest bit out of his mouth as he works, brow furrowed in concentration. You knock. Jed looks up.

“Yes, dear?” He asks. His voice is mockingly sweet.

“You locked the closet.” You raise an eyebrow. “I need to put my things in there.”

“Oh, of course.” God, he’s such a smug asshole. He gets up from his desk. “Sorry. Didn’t want you snooping.” You can hear the jangle of keys in his pocket as he passes by you. He hums softly to himself as he begins going up the staircase. That terrible feeling returns. 

“I liked the bedroom.” You comment idly. Maybe if you keep him happy the bad feeling won’t come true. You can’t see his face, but you can hear the smile in his voice.

“Of course you do. I did it myself.” Jed sounds far too smug for your liking. He pauses. “You better not have ruined anything.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” The reply actually isn’t sarcastic. Jed makes a noise as if he doesn’t believe you. The two of you reach the top of the stairs.

“I know. You’re smarter than to think you can do that.” He pads into the bedroom. You follow behind him. He unlocks the closet doors and opens them with a flourish. You try to keep your eyes from bulging out of their sockets. AS you suspected, it was a walk-in closet, and it was already filled with clothes. Cautiously, you step inside to examine everything. 

Jed chuckles. You ignore him in favor of looking at the clothes. He’s leaning against the closer door, examining his fingernails.

“This is...” You swallow hard. You don’t have the words. Yes, it’s still obviously for show, but damn. Did the man know how to put on a show.

“Don’t. If you start drying, I’ll start too.” His voice is deadpan as he clearly doesn’t mean it. You ignore him in favor of looking at the shoes. Where the hell did he get your shoe size? You turn to ask him. Your stomach sinks. He’s closed one door and is standing in the other one.

“It’s nothing personal, but I just. I just can’t have you thinking that you can run your mouth without consequences.” The note of amusement in your voice tells you he doesn’t mean it at all. “Have fun!”

You pick up a shoe and hurl it at the door. You know you won’t have time to run to it. Sadly, it hits the back of the door and not him. You hear him fiddling with the lock on the door. You scream and run to the door, angling so your shoulder hits it. It doesn’t do anything other than make the doors shake. Jed laughs.

“By the way, the Morrison’s are coming over for dinner.” He sounds bored. “So you’re lucky. That means you only stay in there for a few hours and not overnight.”

You bite down so hard on your inner cheek you nearly draw blood. You don’t hear him move away.

“Hey Jed?”

“Yes, dear?”

“When I get out of this fucking closet, I’m going to gut you like a fish.” You aren’t sure where the words come from. You sound like a fucking wild animal. “I’m going to do it so you’re alive too, and then I’m going to take your entrails and decorate this fucking house with them like they’re goddamn fucking Christmas lights.” You hurl yourself at the door. “I’m going to sew your eyes open so you have to fucking look at it!”

Jed laughs. It’s oddly pleased.

“I can’t tell if you’re being a sore loser or a tease.” He lilts. “It’s not getting you out of there any sooner.” You can hear him walk away. You scream and throw yourself at the doors, causing them to rattle violently. 

Oh. If he wanted to play, you could play.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen. Jed is an asshole. He's just finally showing how much of an asshole he is


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Self-injury (not self-harm), description of a bad injury, cheating, and emotional manipulation.

You want to slam on the door until it breaks. The rage inside of you practically demands it. You indulge yourself several more times, slamming hard into it with your shoulder. You can feel the bruises blossoming under your skin. That makes you stop. You take a deep breath. Your nostrils flare.

First step, see if you can’t find a light. If there’s a light, you can look at the door and see what you’re dealing with on this side. You touch the door and then move to your right. Light switches are always on the left when you enter, so it would be on the right. Your hands come into contact with the switch plate. You grin. You flick the light on. It comes to light with an electrical hum.

Okay. Time for step two. Actually look at the door and see what you’re dealing with here. 

Both doors are large. The majority of the doors is slats, placed tightly together. You can see some of the bedroom, but no one in the bedroom would see you. The rest is essentially a thick frame, larger at the top and bottom. You peek at the slats. Jed tied something to the doorknobs to keep them closed. Okay. You can work with that.

An errant thought crosses your mind.

What if there’s no dinner? What if Jed is just testing you? 

It’s not out of the realm of possibility. You could see Jed locking you in here to see if you’ll figure a way out or if you’ll just give up and wait for him. Of course, knowing him, it could also be purely malicious. That makes you pause. If it’s purely malicious, would you be getting yourself into even more trouble by breaking out? You can’t imagine him being nice about it no matter how this plays out. However, it might make him realize that you aren’t that easily deterred. Who knows, You doubt it’ll do much, but it might make him think twice.

Okay.

You kneel down to try and get a better look at the rope. You make sure to keep your head away from the door. You don’t need your eye to be poked out or anything like that. You look at each slat to try and determine which one is the loosest. You wiggle a couple of them to be sure. None of them are really loose, but one of the ones above the knob is. You guess you must have loosened it some when you charged at the door.

You look back to the rest of the closet. You don’t have a lot to work with in here; it’s mostly shoes and clothes. Wait. No, Actually, you can work with this. You grab a heel and a fairly study looking work boot. You also snag one of the thicker belts.

You start with the boot first. You slip your hand inside of it so that your palm is pressed flat to the bottom of it. You start whacking it with the heel of the boot. That should hopefully loosen it enough that you can either use the belt or the high heel to move it even more. You feel the slat starts to give. You can hear the sides of the door cracking. You grin. It’s an almost feral grin. You stop and slip the boot off your hand. You watch to see how much wiggle room you have now. You start to wiggle it when a voice comes from the other side.

“You do realize I can hear you.” Jed’s tone is flat. “Points for effort, but minus 10 for stealth.”

“Oh?” You flutter your eyelashes at him. “Well then, would you care to give me something that would make this process a little quieter?”

“Nah. I don’t think so.” You hear him move around the room. For a second, you wonder what he might be up to. The idea that he might be grabbing something to reinforce the door crosses your mind. It sends a zinge of panic throughout your entire body. You abandon the shoe plan and start working on getting the slat out with your hands. You hear rustling. You aren’t sure if you’ll have enough time, but you’ll be damned if you don’t try. It’s wiggling but not the way you want it to. It’s moving in a more up and down motion rather than a side to side one. You swear. Jed laughs. You move to the sides and start pulling at it there. The wood has splintered. Normally, you’d be careful to avoid those, but you were under too much pressure to worry about that. You can’t get a good hold on it. You try to dig your nails into it. All that succeeds in doing is breaking a nail.

“Fuck!” You can hear chains rattling. You give up entirely on trying to pry the slat out and instead start slamming yourself into the door. You try to angle your shoulder so that it’s hitting the center of the already broken wood. Maybe that will help. You can hear little crackling noises but nothing that indicates the wood is about to give. Something stands in front of the closet, preventing light from entering through the slats. You slam harder. The doors shake. You can feel the splintering wood starting to scratch your skin. It’s long, thin scratches, just enough to draw little trickles of blood.

You see where the wood is starting to crack. You rotate your shoulder and aim it right at that point. It rattles. You pull back and do it again. And again. And again. You’re so focused on what you’re doing that you don’t see the sliver that poking out from the wood paneling. You hit the door as hard as you can. The shard of wood piercing your skin. It goes deeper than you would have thought into the upper part of your arm. You pull back.

“Jesus fuck!” You can feel a large amount of blood beginning to gush from the cut. You shake your head. That doesn’t matter. You can tend to your wounds later. What matters is getting out of this fucking closet before Jed seals the doors with something else. You’re getting ready to rear back and slam into the doors again when you hear a click. Jed swings one of the doors open. He leans against the frame with an amused look on his face. You snarl.

“If you aren’t going to behave, I can keep you locked in here.” His tone is amused, but you can hear the warning in his words. You stare at him. Your lips twitch. Jed stares even back at you.

“Fine.” The word is defiant. Jed clicks his tongue.

“I need more than that.” 

“Fine. I’ll behave.” It’s hard to get the words out. Jed smiles.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” He mockingly coos. His eyes focus on your shoulder. “I’ll give you points for determination.” He steps back and out of the doorway. You hesitate, unsure of what he might have planned for you next. He rolls his eyes.

“Do you need an invitation?’ You step forward and out of the closet. The lighting in the main room is brighter, so you can get a better look at how much damage you did to your shoulder. You can’t help the hiss that escapes you. Jed rolls his eyes.

“Come on.” He ushers you towards the bathroom. Once inside, you take a seat on the edge of the bathtub. He pulls out a first aid kit from under the cabinet. You half-expect him to start cleaning it for you. Instead, he chucks the kit at you. You catch it. The movement sends a shooting pain through your arm. Jed looks delighted at the noise of pain you make. You open the first aid kit and pulls out an antiseptic towelette and a giant band-aid. You try to clean it, but it proves difficult since you can’t see what you’re doing. With a huff, you stand up and go over to the the sink. Jed is watching you from the doorway.

It’s easier with the mirror. You can get a better look at it. It’s jagged around the edges and tender to the touch. You poke at it and hiss at the resulting shock of pain. It seemed to be bad. You had no idea if you would need stitches or not. You wipe away the blood as best you can before grabbing a thing of gauze from the first aid kit. You press it down hard on the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. You watch flimsy material turn red, the stain starting from the center and working its way out. You know you’re going to need another thing of gauze, you open another packet and slap it on top. That should be enough. Now for the hard part.

You don’t know why you look at Jed. You don’t expect him to help you. To your surprise, he steps out of the doorway and makes his way over to you. He deftly plucks the adhesive tape from the kit. You hold your arm out to the side. He wraps the gauze with precision. His knuckles brush against your upper arm occasionally. You try to ignore your reaction to his touch. He finishes wrapping it with a little flourish. You resist the urge to roll your eyes. It wouldn’t be a good idea to push him now.

“Don’t be mad at me.” He tells you as you begin cleaning up. “Think of it as a learning experience.”

“A learning experience?” It’s hard to keep your voice even. “For what, exactly?”

He looks at you as if you’re an idiot. “If the bozos ever decide to lock you in a closet, now you know how to get out.” He pauses. “I could have tied you up and thrown you in there. I’d be grateful if I were you.”

“Thank you.” You spit the word out. Jed holds a hand up to his ear.

“Thank you.” You try to make your voice sound as fakely pleasant as you can. He grins.

“We’ll work on your manners.” He slaps your arm, right on your wound. You nearly yelp. He grins as he walks out of the bathroom. “Get cleaned up. We’re going out.”

It’s a little hard to get cleaned up with your shoulder, but you manage. Changing shirts is the hardest part. You have to be very conscious of where the wound is and to not brush against it. You manage, though. You aren’t exactly sure where he’s planning on taking you, so you go with something that’s nice enough to go to someplace upscale but not so nice that you’ll feel overdressed if you end up going someplace normal. You clean up your appearance as well to be sure. When you make your way down the stairs, Jed is waiting by the door.

“Took your time.” He comments wryly.

“Yes, well. You didn’t exactly tell me what we’re doing.” You counter. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” He ushers you out to the car. You get this sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. You watch him warily. You’re beginning to suspect you need to listen to your gut more often than not. At least the ride is pleasant. Jed even puts on some music. He drums his fingers on the wheel and even hums along. Despite yourself, a smile worms its way onto your face. When he’s not being an asshole, Jed is very attractive. Well, he’s attractive all the time. You just don’t feel awful about thinking that when he’s being docile. 

He stops at a park. You blink.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Come on.” He gets out of the car. You follow suit. He meanders for a bit before finding a bench. He sits down on it. You stare at him. He pats the bench beside him. With a huff, you sit beside him. You cross one leg over the other. Jed slings his arm over the back of the bench. The spot that he’s chosen gives you a perfect view of the sun. It’s low in the sky. In about an hour, it will probably start setting. You look at it for a long moment. Jed hums softly to himself.

“Why are we out here?” You finally ask. Jed grins.

“Thought we could get out for a bit.” He’s too nonchalant with his response. You narrow your eyes. He chuckles. “We need to discuss a game plan.”

“Alright.”

“We need to change plans slightly.” Jed looks at the sky for a second. “Dumbass and his lackey might try to kill you. I need to start teaching you how to not let that happen. You’re smarter than the average bear, but you’re not that smart. I’ll have to teach you how to get out of situations, go unseen, all that jazz.”

You nod. That was fair. If Billy and Stu were trying to kill you, you did need to know how to defend yourself and get away. Something tells you that’s not the only reason Jed brought you out here. You don’t ask. Instead, you wait for him to start speaking again. Jed reaches into his pocket and fishes out a pack of cigarettes. He gets one. This time, he doesn’t offer you one. Instead, he lights the one for himself. After he takes a pull, he offers it to you. You shake your head.

“Some day, I’m going to get you to shotgun.” He tells you, a wicked smirk making its way onto his face. Jed takes another long drag. When he exhales, he pushes it through his nostrils so he looks like a dragon. “I thought about the problem of the boys and how to break their hearts.”

“Oh?” You shift on the seat. Since night is starting to creep in, it’s getting a little colder. You find yourself curling more towards Jed for warmth. “Care to share your master plan?”

“Patience, grasshopper.” He scolds you. His tone is playful, though. That’s a good sign. He drums his fingers against the park bench. “I think you’ll enjoy it a lot.” He looks at you. “How’s your shoulder doing?”

“It hurts.” You eye him warily. “Why?’

“I can’t ask a question like that?” His tone is tongue in cheek. “I don’t want to take you to the hospital. I also can’t have you being in pain 24/7 because. Well. That’s no fun for you. And things go a lot more smoothly when both of us are having fun.” He shifts on the bench so he’s facing you head-on. “So. What were your big dreams and ambitions before all of this?”

You blink. The question seems to come out of nowhere. You scan his face for a second to make sure that he’s asking out of genuine curiosity and not to try and fuck with you some more. He seems as if he really does want to know. You rub the back of your neck.

“Well, I...” God. Why can you not think. You take a deep breath and begin telling him. You tell him what you were studying and what you wanted to do with your life. You tell him about some of your dreams and ambitions, although you keep some to yourself. You don’t want him knowing everything about you. He listens with rapt attention. He asks questions that indicate he’s listening. It’s nice. It’s more than nice. It’s pleasant. You can feel yourself relaxing as you speak. This is familiar territory for you. He inches closer as you talk. You don’t mind it. 

“You’re really pretty when you talk about something you’re passionate about.” Jed says smoothly. You try not to give away how flustered you are.

“I- thank you.” You aren’t sure why, but you look at your lap. Jed tsks. He slides a finger under your chin and uses that to move your head so you’re looking at him. He’s looking you directly in the eyes, and oh. He really is truly, almost devastatingly, handsome. A slow grin appears on his face.

“You’re cute when you’re flustered.” He teases. You give him a look.

“What do you want?” Your voice is flat. He grins. He pulls his finger away, but he’s still close, so close he’s almost touching you. 

“Who says I want anything?” He lilts. You scoff.

“I do. What do you want?”

“Oh, a lot of things.” He fakes consideration. “I want a million dollars. I want a big house. I can’t decide if I want a Lambo or a Ferrari. I think the Ferrari. I really want world domination. But right now, what I think I want is to kiss you.”

You blink.

You think your brain short-circuits.

“I’m sorry?” You scan his face. Surely he has to be joking. He couldn’t really want to do that, right? It was just a part of an act, right? He laughs.

“What do you need me to repeat? The world domination part or the kissing you part?” You become aware of just how close he is to you. He’s so close that yeah, if he wanted to, he could lean in and kiss you easily. Something dark and hungry is in his expression. You get the feeling that he’s not playing or jerking your chain. You swallow hard. You want to look away, but you can’t.

“I-” Why is it so hard to speak? A smirk slowly appears on Jed’s face.

“It’s a yes or no question. Can I kiss you?”

You flounder. Your brain is telling you all of the horrible things that he’s done and can do, but another part of you very much would like for him to kiss you. You take a deep breath.

“Yes.”

Jed reaches out. He places a hand gently on your cheek. He’s looking you directly in the eyes, and oh god, you want to look away but you can’t. It’s too intimate for you to even try. He’s got you trapped, hypnotized. You don’t think you mind. 

He closes that last bit of space between the two of you. Your eyes instantly flutter closed as soon as his lips touch yours. He smirks against your lips. He’s a good kisser. It’s not long before you’re pressing yourself closer to him, one hand going to the nape of his neck. The other scrambles for purchase along his back. He nips at your lower lip, and you part your lips just so. 

Someone calls your name. A familiar voice calls your name.

You pull away from Jed like you’ve been burned. You turn towards the source. 

Stu is standing in the middle of the path. The look on his face is one of indescribable hurt and betrayal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all knew this moment was coming hehehe
> 
> Come say hi on my [Tumblr]()


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allusions to murder and violence, Jed being a fucking asshole

Stu stares at you for a little while longer. You stay still, frozen in place as you stare back at him helplessly. Jed lets out a low noise, probably a chuckle. He turns to look at Stu. It’s a languid motion, more fitting of a predator than a human. Of course, Jed is far more predator than he is man. You can’t see his face, but you can feel the lazy grin that makes its way onto Jed’s face. He lifts up a hand and mockingly waves at Stu.

That breaks the spell.

“How could you-?” Stu begins, but he can’t get the words out. He turns away from you. You try to surge forward and go after him, but you don’t get far. You get to your feet, and then Jed grabs you. He grabs your wrist with a surprising amount of speed. He stands up as he does so, using the moment to spin you around so you’re facing him.

“Let me go!” You try to yank your hand out of Jed’s grip. He just tightens his hold.

“Aaaawww.” He coos mockingly. His voice is low, so low that Stu wouldn’t be able to hear it. Not that it matters because Stu is walking away. “Isn’t this what you wanted? You said you wanted to make them hurt. I thought you’d be happy.”

“That’s not- This isn’t-” You try to find the right words as you struggle to get out of Jed’s hold. He arches an eyebrow in amusement, a smirk making its way onto his face.

“This isn’t what?’ He asks. “You aren’t getting cold feet on me, are you? It’s a little too late for that.”

“I don’t-” You turn to look towards St uagain. You hope maybe he’s coming back towards you. Maybe he will if you yell. Before the thought can even register, Jed’s snaking his free hand over to you and clamping it tight against your mouth. You stamp back to try and get his feet. You aren’t sure if you miss because Jed is quick or if your aim was off in your desperation. Jed grins and yanks you close to him.

“I asked you how far you were willing to go to hurt them.” He hisses in your ear. “Did you really think that you could do this without hurting yourself? Your attachments make you fucking weak. Besides.” He pauses and chuckles lowly. “What do you think will happen if you follow him? Hmmm? Sure, you can apologize all you want, but there’s nothing that you can do to fix things. He’s going to tell Billy either way, and both you and I know that will end even worse for you.”

You see Stu stop. You hope he’s turning around to come back this way, maybe wanting to confront you. Jed lets go of you as soon as Stu turns. You scramble several feet, intent on chasing after him, but then. Jed’s words hit you. You turn and look at Jed. 

He was right.

Damn him to fucking hell he was right.  
There was no way that you could fix this. What could you say? What could you do? Nothing could ever breach that gap in trust that you’ve just created. Nothing could breach the gap that they had either. Instead, byu doing this, you had taken a gap and turned into a chasm. There could be no bridges rebuilt or new beginnings. Even if you could find something to fix it, that was just Stu. How would you fix things with Billy? Stu had far more loyalty to Billy than he did to you. If Billy told Stu to jump, Stu asked how high. That had always been the nature of their relationship. And Billy. Well. Forgiveness wasn’t in his vocabulary at all.

You look back at Stu. He’s turned back and is staring at you. No. Not at you. He’s glaring at Jed. You can feel the smugness radiating off the other man. You open your mouth. No words can come out.

There is nothing that you can say or do in this situation that would make things... Right? Better? You’re not sure which word is the one you want. Not that it matters. You can’t make this situation either of those things. You can only watch. Stu Finally makes a decision and comes back towards the two of you. You brace yourself. You have no idea if he plans to come after you or not. To your surprise, he goes for Jed, ignoring you entirely.

You scurry after him. You’re not worried for Jed, far from it. You’re worried about what Jed will do to Stu. 

“You are a dead man.” Stu gets up in Jed’s face. Jed merely raises an amused eyebrow, a smirk playing about the corners of his handsome features.

“Oh no. Whatever will I do.” Jed’s deadpan tone is infuriating. Stu points at him.

“You have no idea what the fuck you’ve just done.”

“I don’t?” Jed blinks in mock surprise. “I’m pretty sure I know what I did, but please. Do enlighten me.”

“It’s gonna get real bad for you, man.’ Stu yells. You see a couple walking the path stop, clearly wondering what exactly is going on here. They’re not reaching for their phones or anything, just watching. That’s probably a good sign.

“Stu. Shut up. People are staring.” You hiss. He rounds on you.

“No! You don’t get to talk! Not after what you just did.” He takes two steps towards you. Behind him, you can see Jed making a mock surprised face, as if he never would have expected this.

“I can expl-”

“What? What can you explain?” Stu starts to laugh. He doubles over for a moment, his laugh bordering on maniacal. He pauses and then straightens up. He points at you. “I knew. I knew something was up with you and him. I fucking knew it, but I wanted. I wanted to believe it wasn’t true.” He wipes at his face with the sleeve of his sweater. Tears are starting to prick at the edges of his vision. Behind him, Jed places a hand over his mouth to muffle a fake yawn.

You don’t know what to say. What can you say? You have to say something because saying nothing in this situation is just as bad. You close your eyes and take a deep breath. That usually helps the words come to you, makes them more clear in your mind.

Predictably, nothing comes to mind. You open your eyes to look at him.

“Stu. I-” You close your eyes again. You have to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose. “I’m sorry.”

There. That usually works. Right?

“You’re sorry?” Stu sounds incredulous. When you open your eyes, you see his expression has changed into one of anger. “That’s all you have to say is you’re sorry?”

Ah shit.

“What do you want me to say?” You huff, throwing your arms out. You’re trying to keep your voice from getting too loud. “Do you want the truth? Or do you want an apology?” The words slip out before you can think about them.

“I want the truth! I want you to be fucking honest with me!” Stu steps towards you. You step up in response.

“Okay. The truth of the matter is that I couldn’t do it. Okay? And you know what, maybe it’s because I finally realize what the two of you were really like or maybe it’s because I fell out of love. But I couldn’t do it anymore. Why do you think I left without saying anything, huh? I mean, I know you. I know Billy. I know that there was no way that I could leave that relationship alive. So yeah. I fucking ran because it was easier, and I got stabbed for my troubles. And then you and Billy waltz your fucking asses back here and try to act like nothing is wrong. Did you not take the fucking hint when I left?” You get closer and closer to him as you speak, your voice rising steadily. To your surprise, Stu takes a step back, and then another.

“You could have just told us.” He nearly whines.

“Oh, right. That would have gone over real well for me.” Your voice drops from a yell into a snarl. It’s a sound and cadence more befitting of a demon than of you. “You, maybe. Billy? Do you really fucking think that Billy would listen. Huh? Do you?”

Stu doesn’t answer. He just stares at your face.

“I said, do you?”

“No, but-” He cuts himself off. “You could have at least told me!”

“And have you running back to Billy? I don’t fucking think so.” Your chest heaves. Stu looks as if he’s about to speak, but you hold up a hand before he can. “No. I don’t want to hear it. This is what’s going to happen. I’m leaving. You’re not going to follow me, you’re not going to figure out where I might be going, and you’re not going to contact me. This is it. If you do any of those things that I just mentioned, you’ll be the dead man. Do you understand?”

You don’t wait for Stu’s response. Instead, you storm past him. Your only goal is to get as far away from him as possible right now. Briefly, you hear him starting to chase after you, but it stops suddenly. You don’t look behind you. Do you want to check behind you? Of course part of you does. The idea that someone should chase after you if you’re upset is something that so prevalent it borders on cliche. It’s what society has taught you to want. You don’t want him to chase after you, though. Not really. The idea of him following you is something that was normalized in highschool; it’s not something that you want anymore.

Then again, you can’t rag on the highschool mentality. That fight was more suited to the highschool hallways than you cared to admit.

You follow the trail, no clear idea where you’re going. You just need to think. You need to get away from everybody. You can’t think with Stu or Billy or Jed around you. Each one of them has their own agenda that they’re pushing, each one breaking you down in different ways. You don’t know where your thoughts end and one of theirs begins. Something trickles down your face. You pause. A sniffle comes from somewhere, and oh. You’re crying. 

Well, it was probably about time you did.

Thankfully, you’ve gotten enough distance away from everyone that you feel comfortable enough to cry. You still look for a fairly secluded spot. A bench is nearby, tucked under a tree. It’s an old stone bench, probably some sort of memorial bench. You take a seat. You automatically bring your legs to your chest and bury your face in your knees. You let yourself cry.

God.

What a sucky bunch of weeks this has been.

You don’t know how long you’ve been crying when you hear crunching on the gravel. The footsteps sound familiar. You look up, and sure enough, Jed is meandering his way towards you. He’s got his hands in his pockets. Honestly, you’re surprised he’s not whistling as he walks. 

“Come to gloat?” Your throat is raw, voice thick with snot. Jed shakes his head. He comes over and takes a seat beside you. You turn your head and stare at him. You don’t trust him, not in the slightest.

“I’m surprised.” He says after a long moment of silence. “I didn’t think that was going to happen yet.”

The hell does that mean? You narrow your eyes at him. He clearly understands what you’re trying to get at because he rolls his eyes at you. He reaches into a pocket and pulls out a handkerchief. You take it with a small thanks. You have a feeling he keeps it on him to wipe any prints and not on the off-chance he starts sneezing. You certainly don’t think he keeps it in case he starts to cry.

“Only letting you use that because you’re ugly when you snot cry. Pretty when you regular cry. Snot crying is a deal breaker.” His tone is deadpan and matter-of-fact. It prompts a bark of laughter from you. 

“I’ll keep that in mind the next time I cry.” Your voice is almost as dry as his. You wipe at your tears and blow your nose. Jed makes a disgusted face beside you, but he doesn’t say anything.

“One of the perks of being like me is that I get an outside perspective on emotions.” Jed begins. “It makes it great for reading people. I don’t get bogged down in that trivial shit that everyone else does. I figured that you had to care about them still on some level. Why the fuck you would I don’t know. I had planned what do in case you were particularly stupid and decided to hear them out or even go back to them.”

“I’m not as stupid as you think.” Your tone holds an edge. “I did the math. I figured what would happen to me.”

“Oh, no. But you’re still pretty stupid.” He looks at you, a pleased glint in his eyes. “You dated those two dumbfucks, so you’re stupid.”

“Just not as stupid as you thought?”

“Just not as stupid as I thought.” He confirms. “I figured that your spine would grow in at some point, and you’d tell them where to shove it. I just didn’t expect for it to happen so soon. Love, especially teenage love, has a way of ripping out any spine you have. Just so you can make someone happy.” He lets out a snort and shakes his head. 

“What does that have to do with anything?” You murmur.

“They make you stupider. I thought they might still.” Jed pauses for a second. You think he’s picking his next words carefully, but you can’t tell with him. For all you know, he could have had these words planned out long in advance. “They were dragging you down. They liked to keep your spine clipped so you would do whatever they wanted.”

“What, and you’re not? You’re just going to let my spine grow back or whatever?”

“Oh, no. I’d keep you on a tight leash.” His voice dips for a second, dropping an octave for the briefest of moments. It sends a thrill up your spine despite yourself. “The difference is that I’m not trying to drag you down. They were trying to keep you on their level. You’re far above them, and I think you know it. I’ll let that one slide because, like I said, teen love makes you stupid. I’m not worried about keeping you on my level because. Well. You could never reach it in the first place. Even if you could, it wouldn’t be fun. It’s a lot more fun to watch you run rampant.”

“I’ve lost tracks of your metaphors.” You attempt a delicate sniff. It doesn’t sound as haughty as you wanted it to.

“They didn’t want you to have a spine because that meant you would stay in their pathetic little bubble with their pathetic lives. Hell, they’d probably want to make you keep the house.” Jed looks at you. “A pathetic bubble and a clipped spine isn’t who you are. It certainly isn’t living up to what you could be. Provided the right teaching, of course.”

“Yeah. of course.” You’re fighting off the wave of bone tired that comes after crying. You can’t help it. You lean on him. To your surprise, he doesn’t move you. Instead, he just looks at you. A bemused sort of a smile makes its way onto his face. You let your eyes flutter closed.

“Come on. Let’s get you home.” He sounds so sincere and caring. If you didn’t know better, you could easily fall for it. You open one eye at him.

“You can’t play me that easily.” You warn. Your filter apparently hasn’t come back into place yet. To your surprise, Jed laughs.

“Yeah I can.” He nudges you to make you sit up. He rises to his feet and then holds out a hand to help you up off the bench. “Come on. You’re annoying when you’re tired. Let’s get you back to the house.”


End file.
